As a primetime soap opera, Desperate Housewives has remained a popular ABC show due to its sordid storylines and intriguing scenarios.
But nothing that's happened on Wisteria Lane can compare to what a former star is accusing the show's creator of doing: in a documents filed today, Nicollette Sheridan accuses Marc Cherry of assault and battery, gender violence and wrongful termination.
According to TMZ, she's suing him for over $20 million, stating that Cherry acted "in an extremely abusive and aggressive manner toward the individuals who work on the show."
Specifically, Sheridan alleges that Cherry struck her across the face in 2008.
This is what supposedly went down:
On September 24, the actress questioned a development in the script. According to the lawsuit, "Cherry took her aside and forcefully hit her with his hand across her face and head."
From there, the papers read, Cherry went to Sheridan's trailer to "beg forgiveness." ABC was notified of the situation, but failed to act.
The suit also claims that Cherry once discovered that Teri Hatcher went behind his back to complain about him. His alleged response? "I hope Teri Hatcher gets hit by a car and dies."
Soon after these incidents, plans were made to terminate Sheridan from the show. Her character was killed off last season.
For now, these are nothing more than allegations. As Desperate Housewives winds down its season, though, there's a good chance the drama behind the scenes will continue through the summer.
** UPDATE: ABC has responded: “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.”
