Nicollette Sheridan Was Fired For Not Knowing Her Lines, Says Insider
April 7 2010, Published 7:05 a.m. ET
It reads like a script from the hit TV show Desperate Housewives, and now RadarOnline.com has the next chapter.
A source close to the ABC show says he knows the real reason why Nicollette Sheridan was fired. The source says she was fired because "she didn't know her lines, she came in late. She was very unprofessional."
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In a lawsuit filed Monday in LA Superior Court, Sheridan claims she was physically assaulted and wrongly fired by creator Marc Cherry 1 1/2 years ago. Sheridan -- who played sexy neighbor Edie Britt for nearly five years on the show -- alleges that on September 24, 2008, Sheridan questioned something in the script, then "Cherry took her aside and forcefully hit her with his hand across her face and head." Sheridan says that in February 2009, she was fired and told that her character would be killed off. The suit claims it cost her millions of dollars in future earnings.
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Our source says Sheridan was warned several times about missing her lines and showing up for work late. And she was allowed to say "she quit" instead of being embarrassed about being fired.
However, Nicollette's attorney Mark Baute told RadarOnline.com "Nicollette worked very hard on the show and was a model employee."
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"We expect the case to be hard fought," Baute said. "And it will not be a surprise if ABC and Mr. Cherry try to depict Nicollette to be something other than a team player and long-standing industry professional. She put her heart and soul into the role of the Edie character, a character that she truly enjoyed playing."
Our source goes on to say that "when she was released, she thought the show owed her $20 million dollars for making the show a success."
So, he says he's not surprised that this suit is asking for the same amount.
And just as her character Edie would do, Sheridan has requested a jury trial.