posted by AINews on Jun 21
Arbitration was ordered on Wednesday in a lawsuit filed in mid-March in Los Angeles Superior Court by Olmos, according to the city’s Fox affiliate KTTV. In the lawsuit, Olmos claimed he was fired for complaining he was sexually harassed by Idol fourth-season finalist Mario Vazquez, who reportedly withdrew from the competition before the finals began for “personal reasons.” Olmos’ attorneys have since stated Vazquez’ departure was not voluntary and was instead the result of their client’s claim.
In addition to suing Vazquez, Olmos named Fox Entertainment and FremantleMedia as defendants in his lawsuit for wrongful termination and violation of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act. He was seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, according to KTTV.
In his lawsuit, Olmos claims that he tried to report the incident to a superior at Idol, who allegedly responded by telling Olmos that “he was crazy.” Olmos also alleges the supervisor said if he “did not stop complaining about his supervisor’s hostile treatment of him, [Olmos] would ‘cry [himself] out of a job’ and not be back for Season 5.”
Olmos began working on Idol in October 2002 and his contract was renewed each of the next two years, according to the lawsuit, until he was “terminated” in May 2005 in the midst of Idol’s fifth-season run.
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