Universal Studios’ ‘Walking Dead’ Actors Were Attacked and Groped by Park Visitors: Lawsuit
An actor who once performed at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Walking Dead attraction has sued the park, claiming that visitors, often drunk, punched cast members on multiple occasions and groped female performers. He is now the fourth former employee from the attraction to sue the park since March.
Kurt Logan filed his lawsuit Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Variety reports. “Universal actually incites its guests to fight the employees,” the lawsuit states, citing marketing materials that urge visitors to “prepare to fight for survival.”
Logan’s lawsuit cites three occasions on which parkgoers allegedly assaulted Logan personally.
Variety notes that when he reported the assault to a superior, the suit states “he was told to take a short break and then go back to work.”
In early March, Melinda Molenda, Lisa Molenda, and Josiah Steele filed a lawsuit that alleged they’d been assaulted and harassed while on the job, and that park management did not do enough to protect them from discrimination and harassment.
“Universal actually creates a volatile situation in which employees and guests are placed in dark, loud, closed, confrontational hallways and mazes in which the guests, often intoxicated by alcohol sold at the park, feel free to harass and assault the employees,” the suit said.
Lisa and Melinda Molenda both reported sexual assaults they experienced while working at the attraction, the lawsuit claims. Lisa, who had been performing in a cage when a visitor groped her breast, was told there were things she “could have done to better protect herself,” the suit alleges.
When reached for comment, a representative for Universal Studios Hollywood told Variety, “We don’t comment on pending litigation, however, the safety and security of our employees and guests is always our top priority.” A representative provided the same statement to The Daily Beast.
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