Nicollette Sheridan, the actress who played a divorced estate agent in ABC's TV series Desperate Housewives, has filed a lawsuit against the show's creator and producer alleging assault and wrongful termination.
In the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, Sheridan claims that producer Marc Cherry hit her in the face on the Wisteria Lane set in September 2008.
Sheridan had asked Cherry about a line in the script, and he "took her aside and forcefully hit her with his hand across her face and head", the suit said. After she stormed off to her trailer, he came to "beg forgiveness".
When she reported the incident to ABC, Cherry retaliated by killing off her character, Edie Britt, in the popular series, Sheridan claims.
�Desperate Housewives� star Nicollette Sheridan has filed a 21-million-dollar lawsuit against the popular show�s creator over allegations of assault and battery, violence and wrongful termination.
Sheridan played Edie Britt on the US ABC comedy-drama series.
According to TMZ, Sheridan claimed show creator Marc Cherry hit her across the face and head, and then fired her after she complained about the assault, legal documents revealed.
The 46-year-old British-born star claimed Cherry created a hostile work environment by �behaving in an extremely abusive and aggressive manner toward the individuals who work on the show�.
She claimed that Cherry physically assaulted her after she questioned him about a script during filming of the show�s fifth season on September 24, 2008.
�Cherry took her aside and forcefully hit her with his hand across her face and head,� News.com.au quoted the lawsuit as saying.
After the alleged incident, Cherry went to her trailer to ask for forgiveness, revealed the legal documents.
Sheridan claimed she immediately reported the incident to ABC but the US television network failed to take action and Cherry�s aggressiveness escalated.
The lawsuit also alleged that when Cherry found out �Desperate Housewives� star Teri Hatcher went above his head to complain about him, he said: �I hope Teri Hatcher gets hit by a car and dies�
The lawsuit, which also names ABC, accuses Cherry of creating a hostile work environment on the set and behaving aggressively and abusively toward the cast and the writers.
When Teri Hatcher, who plays Susan Meyer on the show, spoke to ABC executives about Cherry's behaviour, Cherry told Sheridan: "I hope Teri Hatcher gets hit by a car and dies."
Sheridan argued that her role was one of the lead characters of the show, and was getting more airtime that season. Edie Britt is not featured in the show's opening credits.
Cherry and ABC retaliated against her by killing off her character in a car accident, the court document said.
"It is exceptionally unusual for a popular character to be killed off or written out of a television series unless the actor has requested to be released from his or her contract," Sheridan's lawyer said.
Cherry's company, Cherry Alley Productions, and ABC Studios were not immediately available for comment. The lawsuit seeks 20 million dollars (�13.1 million) in sustained damages.
Former star of TV hit Desperate House Wives, Nicollette Sheridan, is taking legal action against the shows producer and creator Marc Cherry.
Nicollette Sheridan, who played Edie Britt in the popular series, claims Marc Cherry had physically assaulted her before she was fired.
Sassy blond Nicollette Sheridan claims Marc Cherry struck her across the head and face after she questioned the comedy-drama TV shows script.
46-year-old UK born Sheridan says she was later fired by Marc Cherry after she made a formal complaint to the shows broadcaster, ABC.
Nicollette Sheridan is demanding payment of US$20 million for assault and battery, gender violence and wrongful termination.
ABC responded the the Nicollette Sheridan claims: �While we have yet to see the actual complaint, we investigated similar claims made by Ms Sheridan last year and found them to be without merit.�
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