Arianne Zucker Holds Press Conference Amid ‘Days of Our Lives’ Lawsuit (VIDEO)
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Arianne Zucker held a press conference on Thursday, February 8, to address the lawsuit she filed against Days of our Lives production company Corday Productions, the show’s executive producer Ken Corday, and former co-executive producer Albert Alarr.
The long-time soap star, who played Nicole Walker on the Peacock series, has claimed she was fired for speaking out against Alarr. She said that while she had a “loyalty to Ken Corday and Corday Productions,” she needed to stand up for herself and other women on the show.
Zucker addressed members of the press in Los Angeles and read from a prepared statement, where she alleged “female co-workers [were] being sexually harassed, violated, and degraded as women” by Alarr.
“I myself have also been degraded, violated, and sexually harassed by Mr. Alarr,” she continued. “In March of 2023, several female employees were fired. There was complete dissolution of the all-female PR department. Female contracts were not renewed, or they were not returning because of the way they were being treated on the show. Females moved to recurring status and feeling that if they do say something, it would be swept under the rug, and nothing would be done — or worse, they would be fired.”
Last August, Alarr was fired after it was reported he was the subject of an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior on the set of Days of Our Lives. This included claims of inappropriate comments and touching, groping and forceful kissing, and creating a toxic environment on the show.
Zucker went on to say she tried to talk to Corday about the issues so they could “create a safe, balanced, and fair work environment.” But he initially refused to speak to her directly. And when she brought the information to another male employee at the Corday offices, “he was quick to move off the conversation, brushing it under the rug and attempting to dissaude me from lodging my complaints.”
(WATCH) Veteran soap actress Arianne Zucker, who started as Nicole Walker on Peacock’s ‘Days of Our Lives’ until her contract expired in January, speaks out on her lawsuit against Ken Corday, Corday Prods. and former director/EP Albert Alarr alleging sexual harassment pic.twitter.com/QlKphgXxH4
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) February 8, 2024
She said that she persisted and was eventually sent to speak to someone from Sony HR “because Corday does not have an HR department.” However, even when the Sony HR investigation started, she claimed Alarr was still allowed to remain on set for several weeks.
“He was still involved in watching love scenes and making me and other actors and other female crew members very uncomfortable,” Zucker recalled. “And I just wanna add one thing — that we did not have an intimacy [coordinator] up until this point on the show.”
Zucker said as the weeks went on, her agents “received an email with a reduction in pay,” and her character was being written off the show.
“It wasn’t until a petition was signed and a second Deadline article came out that action was finally taken and Mr. Alarr was released as executive producer,” she added. “My character was eventually brought back in August of 2023, thanks to my lawyer, Ana Hita, who had to get involved. However, once I returned to the show, I was treated differently [by] several of the male crew members close to Alarr and also by Ken Corday.”
Zucker’s contract with Days expired in January (though her character will still be seen in future episodes through the summer). She said she tried to speak with Corday about the situation, but he “refused to have a verbal conversation with my team. And also, I still have not received any information or results from what came from my own conversation with Sony HR.”
“After my loyalty to Ken Corday and Corday Production for 25 years… and loving this show with all my heart, working to my highest ability, doing the right thing, and standing up for myself and others is clearly what got me pushed out of my longtime career at Days of our Lives,” she stated.
Corday Productions previously released a statement, writing, “The allegations in Ms. Zucker’s lawsuit are without merit. Corday Productions offered to renew Ms. Zucker’s contract including offering her a pay increase. Rejecting Ms. Zucker’s counteroffer does not constitute retaliation. Complaints about Mr. Alarr’s on-set behavior were promptly investigated. Corday Productions fully cooperated with the impartial investigation and subsequently terminated Mr. Alarr.”
