Legal Victory: Retaliation Lawsuit Against 20th Television Executive Nissa Diederich and The Walt Disney Company Tossed Out
The defendants were accused of blacklisting stunt coordinator Jimmy Sharp.
After nearly three years, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has tossed out a lawsuit accusing Disney and former 20th TV executive Nissa Diederich of retaliation.
What’s Happening:
- Deadline is reporting that a lawsuit filed by stuntman Jimmy Sharp accusing Disney and former 20th Television executive Nissa Diederich of retaliation and blacklisting has been tossed out.
- Los Angeles Super Court Judge Alison Mackenzie made the ruling on September 9th, which was made public today.
- Sharp, who is the son of former 20th Television executive Jim Sharp Sr., filed the suit back in December 2022, accusing Diederich of putting him on a career-ending blacklist after she took over as 20th TV’s head of production from Sharp Sr.
- Sharp was let go from his position with the studio, where he worked as a stunt coordinator for shows like Modern Family and American Horror Story.
- Judge Mackenzie tossed out the case after hearing arguments from both sides.
- Diederich, who now works for Ryan Murphy Productions, shared “I have not made any false statements, lies or misrepresentations about Mr. Sharp to outside employers, other studios or to anyone else."
- Regardless, this is a small win for the House of Mouse, who has had a particularly challenging month after putting Jimmy Kimmel Live! on an indefinite hiatus (before returning him to the air).
Other News — Jimmy Kimmel’s (Near) Return:
- While ABC resurrected Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its indefinite hiatus, the two largest ABC affiliate owners have opted out of airing the late-night show.
- Sinclair, Inc and Nexstar, which own a combined 70 ABC affiliate channels around the US, have both chosen to fill that timeslot with local news and other programming relevant to its respective markets.
- For more information on whether your local ABC channel has been affected, you can check out our full list.
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