Faye Dunaway Denies Calling Ex-Assistant ‘A Little Homosexual Boy' In Discrimination Court Battle
Feb. 22 2022, Published 5:39 p.m. ET
Faye Dunaway is firing back at her gay ex-assistant who is suing her for allegedly being a terror to work with — and demanding his lawsuit be thrown out of court.
According to court documents obtained by Radar, the 81-year-old actress is asking a New York judge to dismiss claims against Rocha.
Back in 2019, the legendary Hollywood actress was sued by her former personal assistant Michael Rocha.
"[Rocha] has suffered as a result of being discriminated against on the basis of [Rocha's] sexual orientation and retaliated against by termination of [Rocha's] employment after he complained of being discriminated against as a gay man," the suit read.
In the suit, Rocha claims he was hired to help Dunaway while she worked on the play Tea at Five.
His duties included making sure the actress made it at and from rehearsals, did not forget to take her medicine and working on her schedule.
Rocha worked out of Dunaway’s apartment and was paid $1,500 a week. However, he claims it was hell working for her.
The suit states the actress “regularly and relentlessly subjected plaintiff to abusive demeaning tirades.” Rocha says his former boss used his sexual orientation to “demean and humiliate him at work.”
Dunaway reportedly called Rocha and other employees “little gay people” and Rocha specifically “a little homosexual boy.” He claims to have a recording of the latter.
The assistant took the issue to the general manager and lawyer for the play but ended up being fired weeks later. He was told Dunaway was not “comfortable” with him anymore.
Other employees reportedly spoke out to The Post claiming Dunaway was a terror on set.
Rocha is suing Dunaway for discrimination and retaliation.
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Now, Dunaway is denying the majority of allegations in the complaint. The response also states, “Dunaway denies calling [Rocha] “a little homosexual boy.”
She is asking the court to dismiss all claims. On top of that, the actress wants the court to order Rocha to cover her legal bills for having to defend herself in this action.
Fun fact — Dunaway ended up being fired from the play after being accused of slapping another cast member.
