CBS paid Eliza Dushku $9.5 million to stay silent about alleged harassment on the set of Bull
The New York Times ran a new piece highlighting yet another instance of attitudes about sexual harassment and the toxic culture that enables it at CBS tonight, revealing that the network paid $9.5 million to actress Eliza Dushku in exchange for staying silent about the harassment she was allegedly subjected to on the set of the network’s legal drama Bull. Specifically, Dushku was paid not to talk about a number of objectionable comments made by star Michael Weatherly, who reportedly referred to Dushku as “Legs” in front of cast and crew, made frequent remarks about her appearance, and repeatedly ad-libbed “jokes” about “rape vans” and threesomes in reference to her character (the latter of which allegedly inspired members of the show’s crew to do the same).
Officially, Dushku—who was brought onto the show for a guest-starring role in anticipation of making her a series regular—was let go from the series because showrunner Glenn Gordon Caron “didn’t know how to write” her into the show anymore. But this only happened after Weatherly—who previously starred on the network’s gobsmackingly popular NCIS—complained about her “sense of humor” to producers in the wake of her calling him out on his alleged sexist comments. In the end, Dushku was offered $9.5. million (i.e., the amount she would have been paid for four seasons of the show, had she been upped to a regular role) in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement about her time on the series.