A former Paramount Footage government was accused of sexual harassment and emotional abuse by two former workers — with one in every of them alleging that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by the supervisor, based on separate lawsuits.
The 2 ladies, recognized as Jane Doe within the complaints, sued Patrick Smith — who resigned earlier this yr as senior vice chairman 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 ladies, who labored at Paramount Footage 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 is our understanding that Paramount allowed Patrick Smith to resign, rather than firing him, after he was asked not to work in the office during the investigation,” Eugene “Chip” Matthews, a lawyer representing one of many Jane Does, instructed Selection.
“We believe that allowing him to resign left his employment record ‘unblemished’ and allowed him to seek any retirement or benefits he may have coming to him.”
Matthews’ shopper claimed the sexual assaults by Smith started in 2016 — when she was 24 and “fresh out of college, according to the complaint filed on July 14 in California state court. Smith locked her in his car, “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 assets about Smith’s conduct after one other firm worker got here ahead with complaints, the criticism alleged.
In keeping with the lawsuit, Smith instructed the girl that he was contacted by HR and requested in the event that they needed him to “take care of it” — which the plaintiff claims was a thinly veiled suggestion that the worker who complained could be fired.
She left Paramount Footage 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 immediately for a similar advert company as the opposite Jane Doe.
Whereas there, she alleges that Smith commonly engaged in “predatory behavior.”
In keeping with the criticism, Smith repeatedly referenced sexual acts and made advances towards her, together with one occasion wherein he demanded that she be a part of him at a convention in Nevada and instructed that they’d 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 crucial aggressive distributors because 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 firms because of prior incidents of sexual harassment and lorded guarantees of promotions over workers.
The alleged harassment additionally wasn’t focused solely on the accuser, based on the criticism.
“Smith repeatedly made inappropriate and unwarranted remarks about female colleagues, openly displaying a disregard for professionalism and respect,” Byron Purcell, a lawyer for the girl, alleged within the lawsuit.
On one event, he allegedly mentioned of one other worker, “She’s older, so there’s probably something going on with her hormones. She’s acting crazy.”
Each lawsuits are in search of unspecified damages.
The Publish has sought remark from Smith, Paramount World, Purcell and Matthews.
