The Walt Disney Company has been his with a sexual orientation discrimination lawsuit by a television production executive who says he has faced various forms of mistreatment since his sexual orientation became known at the company.
Joel Hopkins, who is currently a vice president of production finance at ABC Signature, says in court documents that he began his career at Disney at 1994, working for Buena Vista Television. He says he was promoted twice in his first six years with the company.
But Hopkins says that his sexual orientation became public knowledge after his second promotion and ever since then, he says he has “experienced an ongoing pattern of discrimination, including, but not limited to, being passed over for promotions and not being paid at a level commensurate with department heads.”
Hopkins says he gone to HR multiple times with his complaints but nothing has been done.
He is suing for discrimination based on sexual orientation and is seeking unspecified damages.
A rep for Disney did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.