Fred Savage Accused Of Alleged Assault And Harassment On Wonder Years Reboot
Fred Savage is facing assault and harassment allegations from the set of his former series, The Wonder Years reboot
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It appears that Fred Savage is facing down some disturbing allegations from the set of his former franchise and it looks like this is why he was let go from the reboot. It’s being reported that multiple women have come forward with specifics about Savage’s behavior on the set of The Wonder Years reboot and that his interactions with a number of women were deemed inappropriate. It begins to lend some clarity to the situation seeing as how Savage was let go from the production despite being an executive producer and director of a number of different episodes.
Six different women on the crew of The Wonder Years filed a complaint to Disney and spoke with the Human Resources department back in February. According to The Hollywood Reporter, who broke the story, when the complaint was lodged, Fred Savage was barred from the set of the show while the company sussed out what had happened. In May, he was fired from the series altogether. At the time, it was known that there had been allegations leveled against the actor, director, and producer but specifics were few.
Apparently, when it appeared that those within the company were still being supportive of Fred Savage despite the ouster is when the women who had filed the initial complaint contacted THR. It seems they felt the story wasn’t being done justice relative to the initial complaint and they wanted to have the air cleared about why Fred Savage was fired. They’ve asked to remain anonymous for fear of damage to their careers in the industry.
Among the complaints filed by the crew members on The Wonder Years was Fred Savage’s treatment of female employees of the show. In one account, a woman claims that Fred Savage advanced on her while the cast and crew was out at a local bar during filming. She claims he forced her up against a wall and put his mouth on hers. She says he later apologized to her through a text message. There were also claims of verbal assault by Savage on the set of the show.
Additionally, there appears to have been concern about Fred Savage’s relationship with a much younger crew member that others found inappropriate. A claim has surfaced that Fred Savage and the woman were in a romantic relationship and that she had moved into his property in the Atlanta area where the show was being filmed. Crew members say this woman’s demeanor changed significantly when Savage was present.
Fred Savage released a statement about these allegations and his firing from The Wonder Years saying, in part, “(I) have always strived to contribute to an inclusive, safe and supportive work environment. It is devastating to learn that there are co-workers who feel I have fallen short of these goals. While there are some incidents being reported that absolutely did not and could not have happened, any one person who feels hurt or offended by my actions is one person too many…”
Disney and ABC rebooted The Wonder Years and the show had a successful first season. Fred Savage directed eight of the episodes including the pilot. This followed his starring role in the original series as Kevin Arnold. It is the role that jumpstarted his career. There is sure to be more word on these allegations against Fred Savage and it could happen that more folks speak out about what happened on the set of the show.
