Company Behind ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ Accused of Intimidating Accusers in a Civil Lawsuit
The company behind America’s Funniest Home Videos has been accused of trying to intimidate accusers in a civil lawsuit against three former staffers who claim they were subjected to workplace sexual and racial harassment—and a judge just signed off on it.
Back in March 2019, three former female employees of Vin Di Bona Productions, which runs the family-friendly comedy show AFV, filed suit against the company and its spinoff FishBowl Worldwide Media.
They later came forward as Columbia Crandell, Jessica Morse, and Tunisha Singleton, detailing their experiences of alleged sexual misconduct, retaliatory tactics, casual racism, and an overall toxic environment to The Hollywood Reporter back in October.
Now, Vin Di Bona Productions has won a motion that demands the accusers to cough up what could reach $150,000 for its legal fees—although the case is nowhere near its conclusion. Under California FEHA law, this is basically unheard of because employees are only liable for legal fees once a judge makes their final ruling, attorney Barbara E. Cowan of Workplace Advocates, who is representing the women, told The Daily Beast. Plus, the judge ordinarily has to deem the case frivolous or that it was brought in bad faith.
