New information has emerged about Fred Savage’s dismissal from the reboot of The Wonder Years.
The 46-year-old actor, who starred as Kevin Arnold on The Wonder Years from 1988 to 1993, was a director and executive producer on the new reboot of the show. He was preparing to direct the ninth episode when, according to THR, six women on the crew decided to all come forward with a complaint against him.
The report from THR went on to say that the group spoke with an HR executive and voiced their concerns about Fred’s alleged conduct towards many women on set.
One member of the group said:
“To their credit, I was contacted within hours. An investigation started immediately and he was barred from set.”
It was in May that news broke about Fred having been let go as director and executive producer of the series. A rep for Disney’s 20th Television simply said at the time that the dismissal had to do with “allegations of inappropriate conduct.”
After a reports came out that Fred was “doing a lot of self-reflecting” as he “knows he can be an a-hole at times,” and that he has had “overwhelming support” from friends and colleagues on The Wonder Years, several women were inspired to contact THR to shed more light on the situation. One said:
“I and the other women feel that people need to know what the wrongdoing was.”
She noted that Fred had already been the subject of similar allegations before. When he was 16 in 1993, he was sued by a costumer on the original show for sexual harassment. The case was settled. A female crew member on The Grinder claimed later on that he “constantly hurled profanities” at women on set and that he struck her during a fitting. The lawsuit was likewise settled.
Fred denied any wrongdoing on both cases.
The women who worked on the reboot revealed how they felt there were two sides to Fred – one being a friendly and supportive colleague, and one with an angrier, darker side. They claimed that he never showed other actors or executives his bad side and that the different side appeared to “below-the-line employees who don’t have power.”
Fred released a statement to THR. The former child star declared:
“Since I was 6 years old, I have worked on hundreds of sets with thousands of people, and have always strived to contribute to an inclusive, safe and supportive work environment. It is devastating to learn that there are co-workers who feel I have fallen short of these goals.
While there are some incidents being reported that absolutely did not and could not have happened, any one person who feels hurt or offended by my actions is one person too many.
I will work to address and change any behavior that has negatively affected anyone, as nothing in this world is more important to me than being a supportive co-worker, friend, husband, father and person.”
One insider revealed that she had a positive impression of the actor, saying he was “very charming” and “very friendly.” She did say however that she felt nervous about the “strangeness” of his relationship with one of the younger women on the crew. Others reiterated her sentiments, claiming that Fred would give the young woman gifts and that she had moved into a house that he was living in.
It was primarily these concerns about the alleged relationship between Fred and this young woman that led to many women reporting him to HR. Another insider shared that the young woman was not the only one to receive special attention from him on set — he is said to have shown “blatant favoritism” to another crewmember who was in her 30s.
The woman being referred to told THR that Fred became her friend as they worked together on the show, and that “it was very platonic.” She said Fred was trying to help her with her career and then she was suddenly fired.
She was invited to a night on with a group of people working on the reboot. When she went to the restroom, she alleged that Fred entered after her:
“I started laughing, like, ‘What are you doing? This is a woman’s bathroom.”
She then claimed that Fred approached her and pushed her against the wall:
“I said, ‘Please don’t do this.’ I meant running the friendship. I was pleading, not from fear so much, but this was no going back.
He put his mouth on mine very forcefully. He went for the top of my pants. I brushed him away. They he put his mouth on mine again, grabbed my hand and pulled it on his groin area. I was pulling back. He stopped very angrily. I shoulder checked him so I could get out.”
