Accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct have been brought against Thomas Schumacher, the President and Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions and the President of the Broadway League by former employees. These allegations have surfaced just one day before the first preview of Disney’s Frozen on Broadway.
Schumacher holds the highest position in the post-Disney Broadway and has led Disney’s theatrical division since The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, among others.
According to The Wall Street Journal via Variety, the allegations brought forth “include harassment, inappropriate comments and compliments, and openly lewd remarks. One former employee who spoke on the record, Bruce Williams, said he complained about ongoing harassment by Schumacher, although in the article, Disney responded by saying it had no record of the complaint. According to the Journal, complaints by another former employee, Jane Buchanan, over inappropriate language culminated in Buchanan leaving the company with severance pay and a non-disclosure agreement.”
Another example included in the Journal article via Deadline “involved claims by employees of Disney’s 2006 Tarzan production that Schumacher made lewd comments about the title star Josh Strickland, including that the two had gone ‘naked tanning’ together. Strickland confirmed a tanning session to the WSJ, but said ‘at no point did I ever feel uncomfortable’ and that ‘any suggestion of nudity…is completely untrue.’”
News Sources: Variety and Deadline
Image Source: Walt Disney Studios
