‘Lion King’ Actor Claims Disney Fired Him After He Reported Sexual Harassment And Took Paternity Leave

Topline

An actor in the national tour of The Lion King sued Disney and individual employees Thursday after he was terminated in 2020, alleging the company discriminated against him for taking paternity leave and as a retaliatory measure after he made allegations of sexual harassment.

Key Facts

Actor William James sued Disney Theatrical Group, Disney Studios Content and several individual employees in New York State Supreme Court, accusing them of violating state human rights laws that prohibit discrimination after he was fired on the first day of his paternity leave.

James alleges the general manager of the Lion King tour, Ameena Kaplan, repeatedly sexually harassed him for months in 2019—as well as other male employees—including by asking him to meet privately after work hours, and then suggesting she could limit his role as an understudy for Mufasa in retaliation for rejecting her advances.

Disney management turned a “collective bind-eye” to James’ allegations about his “hostile work environment,” he alleges, and “condoned and supported” Kaplan instead, alleging that after they investigated James’ claims, management told him he “needed to correct his behavior” and behave better toward Kaplan.

Disney “did not train, supervise or instruct its employees, or management” on how to properly handle allegations of discrimination, James alleges.

James brought the lawsuit after Actors Equity, which represents Broadway and national tour performers, filed a grievance on his behalf and investigated the incident, the lawsuit alleges, which corroborated James’ sexual harassment allegations—but Disney “did not care,” the suit claims, at which point the union advised the actor to pursue legal action.

Disney Theatrical Group and the broader Walt Disney Company have not yet responded to requests for comment.

Crucial Quote

James “suffered severe emotional distress, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of employment, physical humiliation, special damages, fear, intimidation, anxiety, depression, anger, loss of employment opportunities,” the lawsuit alleges.

What To Watch For

James is asking for Disney and the other defendants to pay an unspecified amount in damages for the “mental, emotional and physical injury” he has allegedly suffered, as well as a court declaration that Disney engaged in unlawful employment practices.

Key Background

This marks the second major paternity leave-based lawsuit that Disney has faced in recent years, after Disney Streaming Service employee Steven Van Soeren sued Disney in federal court in 2019 for alleged pregnancy discrimination after he was terminated following a two-week paternity leave. Disney ultimately won that case in court, after alleging federal law only protects the pregnant person and not the father, as a federal judge moved to dismiss the case in 2020. James’ lawsuit is filed in state and not federal court, however, and does not make any claims under federal law—rather alleging broader discrimination under state rules—so it’s possible his case could succeed even after the previous case failed.

Further Reading

Disney Beats Pregnancy Discrimination Claim as Court Finds Spouses Aren’t Protected (Hollywood Reporter)

Over The Last 20 Years, Broadway’s ‘Lion King’ Has Made More Money For Disney Than ‘Star Wars’ (Forbes)