Consumer Law
Disney Faces a Lawsuit for Allegedly Discriminating Against a Gay Employee
A longtime executive in the Disney organization claims his career allegedly hit a “dead end” when it became known to higher-ups that he was gay, and as a result, he is suing in California state court just as Pride Month is commencing.
The plaintiff in the case, Joel Hopkins, a Disney employee for almost 30 years, also alleges that his paycheck suffered because of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Hopkins is currently vice president of production finance for the Disney subsidiary Touchstone Television, which is now known as ABC Signature.
Hopkins claims that for the past two decades, once Disney — including his direct supervisor — learned of his sexual orientation, he “experienced an ongoing pattern of discrimination.”
