Disney, ABC, and John Ridley Hit With a Discrimination Lawsuit by Ex-Development Executive

Disney has been hit with a new lawsuit from a development executive over allegations that she was underpaid because she’s an Asian American woman.

Asta Jonasson, in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims she was discriminated against by director John Ridley, whose production house has an overall deal with Disney through ABC Studios. She says she was fired in retaliation for issuing a complaint about unequal pay on the basis of her gender and race.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of Disney facing growing legal woes over allegations of pay discrimination against women described in a class action filed in 2019. The case cleared a major hurdle last year when a judge certified a class of employees, who work across the company’s movie production arm, record labels, theme parks and home distribution subsidiaries, among various other units including broadcast and research and development. A trial is expected to be scheduled next year in what’s believed to be one of the largest classes ever suing under an equal pay act claim.

Read the source article at The Hollywood Reporter