Eliza Dushku writes scathing op-ed about Bull sexual harassment case

'I did not overreact. I took a job and, because I did not want to be harassed, I was fired'

Eliza Dushku attends the Atomic Age Cinema Fest Premiere of "The Man Who Saved The World" at Raleigh Studios on 27 April, 2016 in Los Angeles, California (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Eliza Dushku has published an op-ed in the Boston Globe detailing her account of harassment faced on the set of the CBS series Bull by her co-star Michael Weatherly.

Last week, The New York Times reported that a $9.5m settlement had been reached between the network and Dushku, after she claimed she was fired when she reported the alleged harassment to CBS, which she said included sexually inappropriate comments, such as a comment about a rape van and that Weatherly wanted to have a threesome with Dushku.

Weatherly apologised for his behaviour, adding in a statement: "During the course of taping our show, I made some jokes mocking some lines in the script. When Eliza told me that she wasn’t comfortable with my language and attempt at humor, I was mortified to have offended her and immediately apologized."

"After reflecting on this further, I better understand that what I said was both not funny and not appropriate and I am sorry and regret the pain this caused Eliza.”

Dushku, who is best-known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Lies, and Bring It On, wrote in the op-ed: "In explaining his bad behaviour, Weatherly, who plays Dr Bull, claimed I didn’t get his attempt at humour. That’s how a perpetrator rationalizes when he is caught. For the record, I grew up in Boston with three older brothers and have generally been considered a tomboy... I do not want to hear that I have a ‘humour deficit’ or can’t take a joke. I did not overreact. I took a job and, because I did not want to be harassed, I was fired.”

She added that she did not initially comment on The New York Times article as she believed the confidentiality agreement she signed as part of her settlement prohibited her from doing so.

“I was under the impression that Weatherly and [Glenn Gordon] Caron [the show-runner] would also not respond per our settlement,” she wrote in her Boston Globe piece. “Instead, both commented to the Times in what amounted to more deflection, denial, and spin.” As a result, she wrote, she felt “compelled to chronicle what actually happened.”

CBS said in a statement last week: “The allegations in Ms. Dushku’s claims are an example that, while we remain committed to a culture defined by a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace, our work is far from done,” the statement said. “The settlement of these claims reflects the projected amount that Ms. Dushku would have received for the balance of her contract as a series regular, and was determined in a mutually agreed upon mediation process at the time.”

Dushku wrote that, as the incident was captured on CBS's own video recordings, "this is not a 'he-said/she-said' case". She continued: “Reflecting on the whole ordeal, it often makes me think with sadness of the majority of victims who do not have the benefit of the fortunate evidence — the tapes that I had.”

“Watching the recordings in the settlement process, it is easy to see how uncomfortable, speechless, and frozen he made me feel. For Weatherly’s part, it looks like a deeply insecure power play, about a need to dominate and demean. In no way was it playful, nor was it joking with two willing participants."

"What is hardest to share is the way he made me feel for 10 to 12 hours per day for weeks. This was classic workplace harassment that became workplace bullying. I was made to feel dread nearly all the time I was in his presence. And this dread continues to come up whenever I think of him and that experience.”

Earlier this year, Dushku came forward with allegations that stuntman Joel Kramer molested her on the set of 1994’s True Lies, when she was 12 and he was 36. Kramer, who denied the allegations, was dropped by his agency WPA.

The actor made the allegation on Facebook, writing: "I have struggled with how and when to disclose this, if ever. At the time, I shared what happened to me with my parents, two adult friends and one of my older brothers. No one seemed ready to confront this taboo subject then, nor was I.”

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