Disney is facing a lawsuit from an employee who accuses the company of concealing a former executive’s alleged pattern of sexual misconduct after she was assaulted.
The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, claims management at Disney repeatedly refused to escalate concerns about former vice president of distribution Nolan Gonzales despite several complaints, creating an environment in which he was “free to harass women with impunity.”
“Management was incentivized to hide Gonzales’s harassment because he generated valuable revenue,” the suit claims. Disney and Gonzales didn’t respond to request for comment.
The plaintiff, suing as a Jane Doe, alleges that Gonzales assaulted her several times in 2017 through the use of ecstasy and a date rape drug, raping her when she was incapacitated. He also “used his position of power and blackmail” to force her to have sex with him, according to the complaint. When she tried to cut contact with him in 2018, Gonzales allegedly threatened to release intimate videos of their encounters and “ruin her career.”
The accuser claims she wasn’t Gonzales’ “first victim nor his last” and that his history of sexual misconduct was well-known by management, which allegedly refused to properly investigate or take punitive action against him for years.
“Women were discouraged to come forward about his behaviors because management seemingly accepted Gonzales conduct as being part of the entertainment industry and his firing would hurt the company financially,” states the complaint.
According to the complaint, Gonzales stepped down in 2022 after three other women reported him for sexual harassment. The plaintiff, meanwhile, claims she was demoted last year in an alleged attempt by Disney to retaliate against her.
“Disney used the rolling layoffs as an excuse to demote Plaintiff and to place her on a different team where she did not manage any direct reports,” the suit states. “Previously, Plaintiff was a supervisory level employee who trained and directed three subordinates. Now, Plaintiff’s essential job duties are much smaller in scope and are similar to duties she performed at Disney ten years ago.”
The complaint, which also names Searchlight and 20th Century, brings claims for sexual harassment, sexual assault and battery and negligence, among other claims relating to Disney’s alleged cover-up of Gonzales’ misconduct. It was brought under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which revived the statute of limitations for claims seeking to recover damages suffered as a result of sexual assault for one year. Despite the window closing on Dec. 31, the court may choose to advance the suit since that day and Jan. 1 were court holidays.
Disney is facing mounting legal concerns. A judge last month certified a class of nearly 9,000 workers suing the company for discrimination against female workers, who say they’re being paid less than their male counterparts. It’s believed to be one of the largest classes ever suing under an equal pay act claim.