A former Paramount Photos govt was accused of sexual harassment and emotional abuse by two former staff — with one in all them alleging that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by the supervisor, based on separate lawsuits.
The 2 girls, recognized as Jane Doe within the complaints, sued Patrick Smith — who resigned earlier this 12 months as senior vp of worldwide print manufacturing within the studio’s advertising and marketing division following an investigation by the corporate into his alleged misconduct — together with the film studio and guardian firm Paramount World.
Smith was the direct supervisor for each girls, who labored at Paramount Photos in addition to XYi Design, a vendor utilized by the studio, based on the lawsuits filed earlier this month and reported by The Hollywood Reporter and Selection.
“It’s our understanding that Paramount allowed Patrick Smith to resign, relatively than firing him, after he was requested to not work within the workplace throughout the investigation,” Eugene “Chip” Matthews, a lawyer representing one of many Jane Does, informed Selection.
“We imagine that permitting him to resign left his employment report ‘unblemished’ and allowed him to hunt any retirement or advantages he might have coming to him.”
Matthews’ shopper claimed the sexual assaults by Smith started in 2016 — when she was 24 and “contemporary out of school, based on the criticism filed on July 14 in California state courtroom. Smith locked her in his automotive, “shoved his hand between her legs” and molested her, the criticism alleged.
Two years later, Smith allegedly pulled her into secluded spots on the studio lot for intercourse acts, and later sodomized her, based on the lawsuit.
At across the time of the alleged 2018 incident, the girl was interviewed by human sources about Smith’s habits after one other firm worker got here ahead with complaints, the criticism alleged.
In accordance with the lawsuit, Smith informed the girl that he was contacted by HR and requested in the event that they wished him to “care for it” — which the plaintiff claims was a thinly veiled suggestion that the worker who complained can be fired.
She left Paramount Photos in 2022.
The opposite accuser, in a lawsuit filed on July 9, says she labored at Paramount from 2017 to 2019 earlier than being directed to work straight for a similar advert company as the opposite Jane Doe.
Whereas there, she alleges that Smith commonly engaged in “predatory habits.”
In accordance with the criticism, Smith repeatedly referenced sexual acts and made advances towards her, together with one occasion by which he demanded that she be part of him at a convention in Nevada and steered that they might have intercourse there.
After his advances have been rebuffed, Smith allegedly retaliated by orchestrating a major demotion of the account dealt with by the accuser’s advert company regardless of the corporate being one of the vital aggressive distributors as a result of its pricing, the lawsuit claims.
The July 9 lawsuit claims Paramount ignored a number of complaints of sexual misconduct by Smith, who has allegedly been terminated from different executive-level positions at different leisure corporations as a result of prior incidents of sexual harassment and lorded guarantees of promotions over staff.
The alleged harassment additionally wasn’t focused solely on the accuser, based on the criticism.
“Smith repeatedly made inappropriate and unwarranted remarks about feminine colleagues, brazenly displaying a disregard for professionalism and respect,” Byron Purcell, a lawyer for the girl, alleged within the lawsuit.
On one event, he allegedly stated of one other worker, “She’s older, so there’s most likely one thing happening together with her hormones. She’s performing loopy.”
Each lawsuits are looking for unspecified damages.
The Submit has sought remark from Smith, Paramount World, Purcell and Matthews.
