Eliza Dushku is hoping no one else has to go through what she did on the set of CBS’s Bull.
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum appeared before a House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to testify about the “near-constant” sexual harassment she says she endured on the series as lawmakers review new legislation that would eliminate forced arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, and civil rights cases.
In the virtual committee hearing, titled “Silenced: How Forced Arbitration Keeps Victims of Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment in the Shadow,” the 40-year-old said she “appreciated” the opportunity to speak out about this important issue as “someone who was fired and silenced when I attempted to address it.”
Related: Kirsten Dunst Drags Spider-Man Films For ‘Very Extreme’ Pay Gap!
She began by explaining she was “aggressively pursued” by the network in 2017 for a six-year commitment to play “a competent, high-powered lawyer meant to counterbalance the existing male lead,” which is played by Michael Weatherly.
The star went on to allege:
“However, in my first week on my new job I found myself the brunt of crude, sexualized and lewd verbal assaults. I suffered near-constant sexual harassment from my co-star. This was beyond anything I had experienced in my 30-year career.”
While Dushku didn’t name Weatherly, she detailed some of the harassment she allegedly faced from him, claiming that he frequently referred to her as “legs” and would “smell me and leeringly look me up and down.”
OMG, ew!
She continued:
“Off script, in front of about 100 crew members and cast members, he once said that he would take me to his ‘rape’ van and use lube and long phallic things on me and take me over his knee and spank me like a little girl.”
Um… WTF!?
Dushky claimed that Weatherly also told her his “sperm were powerful swimmers,” clarifying:
“These were not lines in the script. They were incessant and demeaning and directed at me in the middle of what was supposed to be a professional workplace.”
That comment could be a reference to the half-assed apology Weatherly gave in a statement to the New York Times in 2018, after Eliza first came forward with the sexual harassment allegations. He told the outlet:
“During the course of taping our show, I made some jokes mocking some lines in the script. When Eliza told me that she wasn’t comfortable with my language and attempt at humor, I was mortified to have offended her and immediately apologized … I am sorry and regret the pain this caused Eliza.”
But Dushku is calling bull on that.
During the hearing, she made it clear that Weatherly’s behavior was absolutely egregious, claiming he also stated that he wanted a threesome and “mock penis jousting while the camera was still rolling.” She went on to allege:
“Then, as I walked off to my coffee break between scenes, a random male crew member sidled up to me at the food service table and whispered, ‘I am with “Bull.” I want to have a threesome with you too, Eliza.’”
The Bring it On actress said she specifically asked Weatherly to be her “ally on set” and “tone down some of the sexualized comments directed at me, especially since he set the tone at the workplace” — to which he allegedly replied:
“No one is more respectful of women than me. I grew up with sisters.”
*Facepalm*
As we reported, Dushku received a $9.5 million settlement from the network, while execs stood by Weathlery, who still stars in the series. In August 2019, CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl said the actor and the drama’s executive producer, Glenn Gordon Caron, were receiving “leadership coaching.”
The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the bill Wednesday.
[Image via Andres Otero/MEGA/WENN]
The post Eliza Dushku Testifies About 'Incessant & Demeaning' Sexual Harassment On Set Of <i>Bull</i> appeared first on Perez Hilton.
