Disney Employee Accuses Former Disney Executive of Sexual Assault
A former Disney employee is suing the company after she says she was sexually assaulted by a former executive. In her suit, the plaintiff, who is identified as Jane Doe, also accused Disney of covering up the attack and a larger pattern of sexual misconduct and then retaliating against her.
The suit names Nolan Gonzalez, former vice president of distribution, as the defendant alongside The Walt Disney Company, Searchlight, and 20th Century.
The Walt Disney Company
Here’s What Happened
According to the plaintiff, shortly after she was hired in 2015, Gonzalez, who was then an executive director, started sexually harassing her.
Gonzales’s behavior allegedly escalated over time, and he “incessantly” asked the plaintiff on dates. While she declined these advances, Gonzales insinuated that such a relationship could help her career.
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox
By 2016, the plaintiff alleges that she had been warned by other Disney employees that Gonzales was known for that kind of behavior. But still, nothing was ever done.
Credit: Disney
“Management was incentivized to hide Gonzales’s harassment because he generated valuable revenue as the Director of Distribution. Management did not escalate concerns to human resources and created an environment in which Gonzales was free to harass women with impunity,” the suit says. “Women were discouraged to come forward about his behaviors because management seemingly accepted Gonzales conduct as being part of the entertainment industry and his firing would hurt the company financially.”
The Plaintiff Says She Did Not Know Who to Trust
Gonzalez’s behavior continued in 2017. At a company conference in Las Vegas, Gonzalez “begged her to have sex with him in her room.”
Credit: Disney
Once again, the plaintiff denied his advances. She allegedly did not report the incident because she did not know who to trust.
“Management was already aware of Gonzales’s lascivious nature, and he constantly reminded her that he was good friends with them,” the suit says.
Things culminated when Gonzales coerced the plaintiff into a sexual relationship after being promoted to Vice President of Distribution at Searchlight.
Photo: 20th Century
The suit alleges he began providing her with drugs, which the plaintiff believed were MDMA and GHB. He did this, she alleges, “so that he could sexually abuse her with limited resistance or questioning.”
“Many People in Management Were Aware”
The plaintiff says she attempted to cut off all contact with Gonzales in May 2018. In November 2018, she complained to Disney’s Human Resources department after Gonzales began to tell other employees that he had sex with her.
The Walt Disney Company
“To her knowledge, her complaints were not investigated or escalated,” the suit alleges.
The suit continues that by 2022, “many people in management were aware” of the Gonzales situation, and at one point, the “plaintiff overheard a chairperson at Disney say that Gonzales was a pervert and that other women at the company felt the same way.”
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
Gonzales eventually left the company late in 2022 after three other women came forward to complain about his behavior.
The Plaintiff Was Demoted During Disney’s Layoffs
The suit alleges, however, that the plaintiff was retaliated against and demoted. The company, she says, used the mass layoffs as an excuse.
Finally, the plaintiff also alleges that she has been diagnosed with an unspecified medical problem related to her experience. Disney, she says, has refused to accommodate her needs.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
Disney, for their part, has refused to comment on the suit.
