Amazon MGM may not have had anything to say publicly when Criminal creator Ed Brubaker was first accused by a former production assistant of sexual and racial harassment, but today the studio and all the other defendants in the matter spoke very loudly.
“While Noohu’s allegations must be treated as true on demurrer, the evidence in this case will ultimately and overwhelmingly demonstrate that he is an opportunist, not a victim, and that his claims are meritless,” lawyers for Amazon MGM, Brubaker, Criminal EP Phillip Barnett and others said of ljaaz Noohu’s September 2-filed complaint.
“His most sensational allegation — that Brubaker pointed a functional firearm at his face and pulled the trigger — is pure invention,” the demurrer adds. “Had that happened, every person in the room, Noohu included, had a duty to report it and in a post-Rust industry on high alert to firearms, someone would have. No one did. Defendants first learned of the supposed incident when Noohu reemerged peddling the story and demanding a payday.”
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Noohu says he endured “sustained sexual, racial, national origin, and religious harassment” while working on the-yet to-be-released Criminal. Hired in late 2023 and shown the door in September 2024, Noohu also asserts he was forced to work in workplace full of “misconduct.” A “workplace made toxic and abusive by the very individuals entrusted with authority over it,” Noohu says in his 12-page complaint.
Based on Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ acclaimed graphic novel series of the same name, Criminal was officially ordered to series by Prime in January 2024. The Brubaker-showrun project has brought some big names onboard like Charlie Hunnam, Emilia Clarke, Luke Evans, Garrett Hedlund and Richard Jenkins, but has yet to be given a launch date.
Though in today’s response filing, which seeks an October 15 hearing in front of L.A. Superior Court Judge William Fahey, it is inferred that some Criminal news is on the horizon.
“The timing of that election gives the game away,” the GT lawyers say of the Sri Lankan American filmmaker who was looking to be made an EP as his PA gig came to an end. “Noohu sat on these supposed claims for twenty months and filed suit on the eve of the press circuit for Criminal. That is the conduct of an opportunist timing his leverage, not a victim seeking redress.”
Now, sure a demurrer like this is a formality where the other side agrees with the basic facts of reality and disagrees with the accusations. However, in this case, Amazon MGM, Brubaker and fellow defendants clearly want to come out on the offense in their defense.
Let’s see if Judge Fahey thinks that’s so criminal after all in next month’s hearing.
