Nicollette Sheridan on "Desperate Housewives" Lawsuit: "I Was Vilified"

[JamesG]

Nicollette Sheridan Opens Up about "Desperate Housewives" Lawsuit: "I Was Vilified"
by Samantha Highfill
March 8, 2018


Sitting down for an interview in the wine room of Atlanta’s St. Regis Hotel on a rainy day in February, Nicollette Sheridan is finally ready to talk about those years away and the drama surrounding her exit from "Desperate Housewives".

After her character, Edie Britt, was killed off in 2009, Sheridan filed a lawsuit against ABC, production studio Touchstone, and show creator Marc Cherry. Sheridan claimed that Cherry struck her in the head and, after she complained about the altercation, wrote her off the show.

“I was the victim of assault and battery on the set of Desperate Housewives by the creator of the show, my boss,” Sheridan says. “I reported him and was retaliated against for doing so and fired. That is against the law.”





Suddenly, Sheridan went from being on a series with a rabid following to being in a high-profile legal battle that garnered a rabid following all its own. While many fans were talking about Edie’s death, many more were talking about the case.

And eight years after the initial lawsuit, it’s not over. A judge threw out her case last year, but Sheridan is appealing.





As far as Sheridan is concerned, the battle must continue.

“I was vilified for standing up for my rights, not only as a woman but as a human being,” she says. “And I was punished for it. But that wasn’t going to stop me because I had to get my dignity back, and if I’d let it slide, I couldn’t have looked myself in the mirror.”





She chose not to let it slide, though the decision took a personal and professional toll. After Edie met her demise by electrocution in 2009, Sheridan retreated to her farm in Hidden Hills, Calif., to reevaluate her relationship with the industry she’d been part of for decades.

“What happened at the end of Desperate Housewives was degrading and demoralizing,” Sheridan says. “It sent me under a rock. I really grappled with what happened, losing faith in people and really not trusting the business at all. I didn’t know that I wanted anything to do with the business for some time.”





Sheridan wrote and produced a few of her own projects with Hallmark, but it wasn’t until The CW called that she thought about making a return to series TV.

“When Edie Britt died on Desperate Housewives, I feel like the audience felt like Nicollette died with her,” she says. “And I thought Dynasty was such a splashy, fun, strong comeback. It was just the right thing at the right time.”





Yes, about that timing… Sheridan acknowledges that the Time’s Up movement made her reentry to TV a bit easier.

“As I was having these conversations about Dynasty, all of these women started coming out,” she says. “I was flipping through the channels and I heard somebody talking about what had happened and it was like this weight lifted off my shoulders because I didn’t feel alone. It is so empowering to not feel alone and to hear other stories. It really helps.”





With that in mind, Sheridan says her only regret about her own experience is that she didn’t speak out sooner. But as she puts it, there’s no time like the present, especially when the present feels like a period of change.

“Women are being heard now,” she says. “I was stepped on. They tried to shove me under a carpet. But it didn’t work.” And now, she’s ready to put on Alexis’ oversized hat and march her way back into our lives. Because much like Blake Carrington’s ex, Sheridan loves a good comeback.





* Marc Cherry’s reps issued the following statement to EW:

“Nicolette Sheridan was not a victim at the hands of Marc Cherry — a court has already ruled to that effect after hearing the testimony of multiple witnesses. We are disappointed that the judicial determination continues to be ignored.”

(Representatives for Disney, ABC’s parent company, declined to comment)

http://ew.com/tv/2018/03/08/nicollet...uit-interview/

[TMC]

A lot of dirt was revealed in the lawsuit. All the Housewives (and Marc Cherry) hated Teri Hatcher, Cherry was often a nasty piece of work, Sheridan tried to get Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria to band together to get a raise together and they ran and told Cherry, it wasn't uncommon for Marcia Cross to come into work late.

I think James Denton wanted to support Sheridan, but was pressured to testify against her. He was said to have been very uncomfortable and mad at the courthouse the day he had to testify.

Also allegedly, Hatcher was a loner and very Jekyll and Hyde-ish. You never knew what mood she was going to be in. That turn many against her early on and she always insisted on making her own deals when contract renewals came up, so the others had really no use for her. Cherry despised her but didn't have to support from ABC to get rid of her. They were high on her.

Longoria was one of the nicer ones of the bunch overall, but she learned quickly from Huffman how to backstab when needed. Ask Sheridan about that. Some think Cherry gave her the producing gigs as a favor for backing him in the charges Sheridan made.

Huffman was the biggest fake and manipulative of the bunch. She knew how maneuver behind the scenes to advance herself and not come out looking evil. Unlike Longoria, she has enough talent and is in demand enough to not need to work with Cherry ever again.

Cross could be cold and standoffish at times, but with her at least you knew what you were getting. Not as manipulative as Huffman and sometimes Longoria was. Cherry was not overly fond of her either. They certainly did a hack job on the Bree character and it's a testament to Cross' talent that the audience didn't grow to hate her after that writing.

[JamesG]

Nicollette Sheridan on her "Desperate Housewives" Lawsuit: “I Was a Victim of Assault”
by Bruce Haring
April 26, 2018


Actress Nicollette Sheridan opened up today about her years-long legal battle against "Desperate Housewives" and various executives affiliated with the show, saying she regretted not speaking up sooner.

Appearing on the CBS show "The Talk", Sheridan – who now is a part of the "Dynasty" reboot on The CW – talked about her years of legal entanglements in her wrongful dismissal suit.





Sheridan has contended that her character was suddenly killed off in early 2009 because of complaints she made over an alleged head-hitting incident on the "Desperate Housewives" set involving executive producer and series creator Marc Cherry.

The original case ended in a mistrial when the jury deadlocked. The various appeals and motions for retrials have since wound their way through the legal system on various matters. The most recent ruling in 2017 tossed the suit, claiming there was ample evidence Sheridan’s dismissal was a creative decision.





On today’s "The Talk", Sheridan said the case was still difficult to talk about. “I was a victim of assault and battery by my boss on the set,” she claimed, “and I reported him and was retaliated against and fired off the show. All of which is illegal. There was nobody to stand up for me. I felt like I needed to stand up for myself.”

Sheridan praised the #metoo movement and its participants for their courage. “It’s a wonderful time for women, I feel. People are speaking out…and I would like to say that it takes a lot of courage because it is very scary.

And my biggest regret was I didn’t speak out earlier and I just relied on the legal system because when I heard people coming out about the sexual abuse, it was such a relief for me to feel that others were speaking up for themselves and they’re being heard and they’re not be vilified because I was definitely being vilified… it took a long time to heal, but I’m back.”

http://deadline.com/2018/04/nicollet...lt-1202377856/