Arianne Zucker sued A day of our lives‘ production company Corday Productions and co-executive producers Ken Corday and Albert Alarr for alleged discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
In a new lawsuit obtained by PEOPLE, the longtime soap star alleged that the television producer subjected her to “sexually harassing comments and non-consensual physical touching of a sexual nature.”
According to the complaint, Zucker claimed that Alarr routinely pulled her to his chest while moaning sexually and “forcibly” touched her during dry-blocking scenes without her consent.
“Alarr would put his hands on [Zucker’s] waist, with his thumbs placed right above her vagina, and moves her around, all the while smiling and grinning in a sexual way, making [Zucker] extremely unpleasant and hurtful,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit also alleged that the executive enjoyed filming aggressive sex scenes and threesomes. While directing Zucker in an intimate scene at DOOLshe claimed he once said, “Trust me, I’d love to switch positions with you.”
The five-time Emmy nominee claimed the producer would often give inappropriate directions like, “F— he like you were younger!” as well as the joke: “It’s a good thing there’s no HR here,” after he touched her without consent and made other rude comments on set, where there was no intimacy coach.
Additionally, Zucker’s complaint alleges that Alarr and Corday often “berated” female employees compared to their male counterparts and that they often “felt abused and the workplace was toxic.”
Arianne Zucker. Courtesy: Getty Images/Mike Moore Albert Alarr steps down as ‘Days of Our Lives’ producer after allegations of misconduct
In a statement to PEOPLE, Alarra’s attorney Robert M. Barta denied Zucker’s claims and said they plan to fight her allegations.
“As Albert said when Ms. Zucker first made these outrageous claims to the press last year, her baseless allegations were examined in a thorough and completely independent investigation that lasted two months. Dozens of individuals cooperated and each request was thoroughly investigated. At the end of that process, it was decided that Albert would continue with the role of co-executive producer of the film Days of Our Lives,” said Barta partially. “Enough is enough. Every day for decades, Albert has worked with hundreds of people who can – and will – testify to the falsity of Ms. Zucker’s mischaracterization of him. We relish the opportunity to share the truth and put an end to her offensive claims once and for all.”
A spokesperson for Corday Productions did not return a phone call when contacted by PEOPLE.
According to the complaint, Zucker eventually spoke with Corday, who heads Corday Productions, and shared her grievances in March 2023. She was then referred to Sony’s human resources department along with other women who spoke about their own experiences.
Sony launched an investigation with 30 witnesses who also shared complaints or confirmed Alarro’s alleged acts. Soon after, Zucker claims her salary was cut and her travel budget was cut in retaliation for coming forward during the investigation. In June, she was eventually written off the series and her future further on Days of our lives became unknown.
When the investigation hit the headlines the following month, the lawsuit claims Alarr was fired only after the news broke to “save face” because Corday and his production company “ratified and tolerated his bad behavior for 20 years.”
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Albert Alarr.
Vivien Killilea/Getty
Lisa Rinna calls ‘Days of Our Lives’ set ‘disgusting’ after misconduct investigation ends
In October 2023, Zucker claimed that her agent had begun contract negotiations on her behalf because her contract was set to expire in January. However, when her agent tried to negotiate the company’s initial offer, she was allegedly given a take-it-or-leave-it offer, despite appearing on the show for 25 years, according to the complaint.
Zucker claimed Corday Productions failed to negotiate in “good faith” and rejected repeated attempts by her agent to try again. When her contract finally expired, Zucker was fired from the show. He is now seeking unspecified damages and “continues to experience extreme emotional distress.”
“Ms. Zucker did what we tell all women who experience harassment to do, which is to report it. Ms. Zucker did just that and was a voice for other women who were too afraid to come forward,” said Zucker’s attorney, Anahita Sedaghatfar. PEOPLE in a press release. “Instead of forgiving her bravery, Ms. Zucker claims Corday retaliated against her and because she spoke out she lost her job of two decades. As part of this lawsuit, we will require Corday to provide sexual harassment training to its employees and hire a sexual harassment coordinator. intimacy to be on set for sex scenes.”
TMZ first reported the news of Zucker’s lawsuit.
‘Days of Our Lives’ is moving to the Peacock after nearly 6 decades on NBC
In July, Deadline broke the news that Alarr was the subject of a nine-week investigation into alleged abuse, discrimination and sexual harassment. The long-running soap then named Janet Drucker as Alarro’s successor after he was fired amid allegations of misconduct in August.
Following the conclusion of the investigation, Corday Productions issued a statement to Entertainment Weeklywhich stated that they “have taken a number of actions designed to ensure a safe and respectful work environment”.
In response to the news of his departure from the show, Alarr issued a statement to PEOPLE saying, among other things, “It’s hard to overstate how heartbreaking this situation is for me.”
“It’s important to set the record straight. I work with hundreds of people every day, the vast majority of whom would disagree with the recent mischaracterization of me,” he continued. “I’ve been in this industry for decades and so far I’ve never had a single complaint filed against me.”
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He also added that “many of the claims mentioned recently in the media are simply false,” and said that “others are so taken out of context or so twisted that they are unrecognizable from the truth.”
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Source: HIS Education