Showbiz
'Friends' harassment case thrown out
Published Friday, Apr 21 2006, 09:46 BST | By Fiona Edwards
A sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the producers of hit sitcom Friends has been thrown out by a San Francisco court.
The court heard about how writers' meetings for the show would get overly raunchy to the point where Amaani Lyle, 32, alleged six years ago that the raw sexual remarks made during work sessions and conversations added up to harassment against women.
However, the justices presiding over the case unanimously decreed that such talk was part of the creative process and the studio and its writers could therefore not be sued for the meetings.
The court added that if the case went to full trial no jury would believe that the assistant had been the target of harassment.
"The record discloses that most of the sexually coarse and vulgar language at issue did not involve and was not aimed at the plaintiff or other women in the workplace," Justice Marvin Baxter wrote.
Baxter added that it "was a creative workplace focused on generating scripts for an adult-oriented comic show featuring sexual themes."
The court heard about how writers' meetings for the show would get overly raunchy to the point where Amaani Lyle, 32, alleged six years ago that the raw sexual remarks made during work sessions and conversations added up to harassment against women.
However, the justices presiding over the case unanimously decreed that such talk was part of the creative process and the studio and its writers could therefore not be sued for the meetings.
The court added that if the case went to full trial no jury would believe that the assistant had been the target of harassment.
"The record discloses that most of the sexually coarse and vulgar language at issue did not involve and was not aimed at the plaintiff or other women in the workplace," Justice Marvin Baxter wrote.
Baxter added that it "was a creative workplace focused on generating scripts for an adult-oriented comic show featuring sexual themes."
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