Arianne Zucker is suing 'Days of Our Lives' for alleged sexual harassment
Arianne Zucker.
Paul Archuleta/Getty ImagesDays of our lives star Arianne Zucker has accused the soap opera's production company of sexual harassment.
Zucker, 49, called Corday Production Inc. and executive producer Ken Corday iWednesday, Feb. 7 lawsuit, alleging that she and several other women were sexually harassed on set To dawn. This is evident from court documents obtained by We weeklyZucker is suing the production company for discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination.
Zucker alleged that she faced “sexually harassing comments” and “non-consensual physical touching or sexual nature” during her tenure. Days of our lives. (She has played Nicole Walker since 1988.) Zucker also blasted the TV director Albert Alarr of making such comments and claimed Corday was aware of the alleged misconduct.
“From the beginning of Alarr's tenure, he has repeatedly submitted [Arianne] and other employees to severe and widespread harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment, on the basis of their female gender,” according to court documents. “Namely, on an ongoing basis, and in furtherance of its intent to harass and discriminate against Plaintiff on the basis of her gender, Alarr subjected Plaintiff to sexually harassing comments and non-consensual physical touching of a sexual nature.”
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Zucker also reportedly witnessed Alarr, 67, harassing other women and making sexually charged comments.
“Alarr, Corday and Ken Corday treated female employees disproportionately to male employees,” Zucker alleged. “Female hair and makeup workers and female actresses were often verbally abused and assigned tasks that were deliberately impossible to complete within the given time frame. Alarr would often yell at female employees in the plaintiff's presence, causing them to burst into tears. Alarr did not shout or berate the male employees. A female actress complained to Alarr that she felt morally uncomfortable with a particular scene, and was subsequently fired by Corday and Ken Corday.
A spokesperson for To dawn denied Zucker's claims.
“The allegations in Ms. Zucker's lawsuit are baseless. Corday Productions offered to renew Ms. Zucker's contract, including offering a raise. Rejecting Ms. Zucker's counteroffer does not constitute retaliation,” the representative said Us. “Complaints about Mr. Alarr's behavior on set were immediately investigated. Corday Productions fully cooperated with the impartial investigation and subsequently dismissed Mr. Alarr.”
Zucker, meanwhile, claimed she was “afraid to come forward” because of the prospect of retaliation or being banned from the industry. She noted that five women were “inexplicably fired” or resigned To dawn because of the culture of intimidation and discrimination.
In March 2023, Zucker shared her complaints about the offensive comments and alleged unequal pay with Corday, who apparently “passed the burden in a lighthearted manner” to his colleagues. She further claimed that the network had not attempted to protect the soap stars from further harassment at the time.
Zucker's contract with the production company expired in January and Corday reportedly refused to negotiate her salary when she was presented with a new deal. She was then reportedly “dismissed from her employment.”
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“As a result of Defendants' illegal conduct, Plaintiff has experienced and continues to experience extreme circumstances,” the documents add. “[Arianne] was thus forced to work under intolerable and illegal conditions and in a hostile work environment, despite her complaints and protests.”
Zucker's lawyer, Anahita Sedaghatfarreiterated her client's claims in a statement shared with Us.
“I would like to add that Ms. Zucker did what we tell all women who experience harassment to do, and that is to report it. Ms. Zucker did just that and was the voice for other women who were too afraid to come forward,” Sedaghatfar said. “Rather than condoning her bravery, Ms. Zucker claims Corday retaliated against her and because she spoke out, she lost a job she was dedicated to for 20 years. As part of this lawsuit, we will seek to ensure that Corday provides sexual harassment training to its employees and hires an intimacy coordinator to be on set for sex scenes.”