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American actor Timothy Hutton has sued producers of the TV series 'Leverage: Redemption', alleging that they breached his contract when they dropped him from the show after a report of a sexual assault allegation.
According to Variety, it was reported in March 2020 that a woman had gone to the Vancouver Police Department, alleging that Hutton had raped her in 1983 when she was 14. Hutton denied the allegations and alleged that the accuser had repeatedly sought to extort him out of millions of dollars. Prosecutors in British Columbia ultimately decided not to press charges. At the time, Hutton was preparing to reprise his role in 'Leverage', a TNT series that ran from 2008 to 2012. But after the report, the production company, Dean Devlin's Electric Entertainment, dropped him from the reboot of the show. The suit alleged that Electric did nothing to investigate the allegation and ignored evidence that Hutton's representatives presented that challenged the claim. The suit further alleged that Electric has violated the pay-or-play provision of Hutton's agreement and still owes him at least USD 3 million. According to the suit, Hutton's representatives had reached an oral agreement on terms of his participation in the show, which would have paid him USD 175,000 per episode, plus the opportunity to direct at least one episode per season. The suit also noted that the contract did not include a "morals clause." As per Variety, Hutton was replaced by actor Noah Wylie, and the reboot, 'Leverage: Redemption', debuted in July 2021. The series was renewed for a second season in December. (ANI)
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