“Days of Our Lives” star Arianne Zucker has accused the show’s coexecutive producer Albert Alarr of sexual harassment in a lawsuit she filed on Wednesday.
In the suit, the actress alleged Alarr, who was fired last summer following a weeks-long internal investigation, harassed her and others. The suit, which also names Corday Productions and executive producer Ken Corday as defendants, states Zucker and other female employees were subjected to tight hugs from Alarr, offensive comments and experienced bullying from the executive.
In addition, the lawsuit alleges Alarr enjoyed shooting aggressive sex scenes and threesome scenes. In one instance, Zucker is accused of telling one of Zucker’s costars that he loved to “switch positions with” her, per the lawsuit.
Zucker has appeared in more than 2,700 episodes of “Days of Our Lives” dating to 1998.
The lawsuit goes on to say that Alarr allegedly made inappropriate comments during the filming of scenes, citing one instance where he told an actress to “f—k him like you were younger,” and after making the alleged remarks the suit accuses him of saying, “good thing there is no HR here.”
In a statement provided to TheWrap, Corday Productions said the lawsuit and allegations of the company’s inaction in light of numerous complaints against Alarr were “without merit.” Additionally responding to Zucker’s claim that she was written off the show in the aftermath of Alarr’s firing, Corday said they “offered to renew” her contract, along with”a pay increase.”
“Corday Productions offered to renew Ms. Zucker’s contract including offering her a pay increase,” the statement said. “Rejecting Ms. Zucker’s counteroffer does not constitute retaliation.”
“Complaints about Mr. Alarr’s on-set behavior were promptly investigated,” the statement continued. “Corday Productions fully cooperated with the impartial investigation and subsequently terminated Mr. Alarr.”
Alarr exited the soap opera during the summer of 2023 and he was replaced by coordinating producer Janet Drucker, who was promoted from her role.
Alarr was fired a little over a week after a report — which was the result of a nine-week investigation — that detailed a series of allegations of misconduct was released. Thirty witnesses reportedly submitted complaints of Alarr’s alleged harassment as part of the probe. Zucker — a 25-year alum of the show — was one of the witnesses, and during the investigation she said her pay was docked as a form of retaliation for speaking out against Alarr. In June 2023, her character was written off the show and she was never told if she’d be brought back on.
Responding to Zucker’s lawsuit on Wednesday, Alarr’s legal team said in a statement provided to TheWrap that “her baseless allegations were examined in a detailed and entirely independent investigation that lasted for two months. Dozens of individuals cooperated and every claim was thoroughly looked into. At the end of that process, the decision was made that Albert should continue in his role as coexecutive producer of ‘Days of Our Lives.’”
Alarr’s August firing came, he said at the time, as a result of the studios “[caving] to a cynical pressure campaign to force me out of my job” with “no new facts.”
“As Ms. Zucker’s own lawsuit all but admits, at a time of industry-wide cutbacks, she was aggressively seeking a significant personal pay increase and additional influence on the show. Having failed in those attempts, she is now — again — trying to exploit vile stereotypes to denigrate and demean a Black man who was in a position of power,” Robert M. Barta, attorney for Alarr, continued. “Well, enough is enough. Every day for decades, Albert worked with hundreds of people who can — and will — testify about the falsity of Ms. Zucker’s mischaracterizations of him. We relish having a chance to share the truth and putting an end to her offensive claims once and for all.”
TMZ first reported news of Zucker’s lawsuit.