Home Alone star Daniel Stern has revealed the career blowback he received in Hollywood after being a whistleblower on a ’90s sitcom.
In his new memoir Home And Alone, the 66-year-old shared a shocking story about being slapped with a $25million lawsuit by Columbia Tristar.
Stern said that he signed on to star in the CBS comedy Passengers in 1999, along with an all star cast and crew that included director Brett Ratner and actor Jeremy Piven.
‘They offered me a boatload of money, made me an executive producer,’ he wrote, according to Page Six.
He alleges that once filming on the pilot episode kicked off, a number of women on set confided to him that, ‘Brett and Jeremy were sexually harassing them, and they were afraid’.
Daniel Stern has revealed the career blowback he received after being a whistleblower on a sitcom when he repeated allegations that two stars had sexually harassed women on set; seen in 2014
Stern alleges that women on set accused actor Jeremy Piven (left) and Brett Ratner (right) of sexual harassment. Both men have denied any sexual harassment allegations in the past
Stern claims that he told other executive producers about the women’s concerns, but was allegedly told ‘to just keep quiet about it’ and that ‘they would handle it’.
He says that he was later pulled into a meeting about it, where TV executives told him that they thought the show could get picked up for series and that they didn’t want any controversy hurting it.
Stern also claims that one producer told him, ‘Don’t you say a f–king word to anyone, or we’ll sue you!’
He also says that he was told not to tell then-CEO of CBS Les Moonves about the sexual harassment claims.
Ironically, Moonves left the company in 2018 over allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.
Stern says he didn’t tell Moonves about the situation on set, but was nevertheless accused of doing so by a furious producer.
When the show didn’t get picked up, Colombia Tristar slapped Stern with a $25million lawsuit, alleging that he’d ‘sabotaged the show’.
In his new memoir Home and Alone, the 66-year-old shared the shocking story about being slapped with a $25million lawsuit by Columbia Tristar
Stern is best known for starring alongside Joe Pesci in the Home Alone films
They eventually dropped the lawsuit after he agreed to pay back the money he’d been paid for the series.
Dailymail.com has contacted Piven and Ratner for comment.
Discussing the situation with Page Six, Stern described it as a ‘terrifying experience’ that ended up hurting his career.
Reflecting on it all in his book, Stern wrote, ‘Thank God for the MeToo movement. And f–k Brett Ratner, f–k Jeremy Piven, f–k Les Moonves, and f–k that top-level executive at Columbia!’
Meanwhile Piven, 58, was dragged into the MeToo movement when multiple accusations of sexual abuse were leveled against him in 2017 and 2018.
He was fired by Moonves on the set of his drama Wisdom Of The Crowd. Moonves, who has since himself been fired over a series of allegations, felt he had no option as more accusers came forward to claim Piven has been sexually abusive.
Piven was accused on Twitter of sexual harassment and assault by 38-year-old actress Ariane Bellamar at the end of October 2017 who claimed the star groped her twice, once in his trailer on the Entourage set and the other at the Playboy mansion.
Piven was dragged into the MeToo movement when multiple accusations of sexual abuse were leveled against him in 2017 and 2018. He has denied them all
That was followed by actress Cassidy Freeman who said on her Instagram page that Piven engaged in ‘predatory behavior’ against her when she was ‘far too young.’
And then two more women came forward accusing the Emmy winning actor of sexual assault and harassment.
Washington-based advertising executive Tiffany Bacon Scourby, 39, and Hawaii-based porn star Isis Taylor both say Piven attacked or harassed them.
Piven has denied all allegations of sexual assault saying they ‘are absolutely false and completely fabricated.’
The actor played the acerbic Hollywood agent Ari Gold on the HBO series Entourage from 2004 to 2011 and in the widely panned 2015 movie.
Piven released a statement refuting Bellamar’s claims at the time.
‘I unequivocally deny the appalling allegations being peddled about me. It did not happen,’ the statement said.
‘It takes a great deal of courage for victims to come forward with their histories, and my hope is that the allegations about me that didn’t happen, do not detract from stories that should be heard,’ the statement added.
Former CBS CEO Les Moonves left the company in 2018 over allegations of sexual misconduct made against him. (Pictured with wife Julie Chen)
‘Thank God for the MeToo movement. And f–k Brett Ratner, f–k Jeremy Piven, f–k Les Moonves, and f–k that top-level executive at Columbia!’ Stern wrote. (Moonves is pictured)
Ratner was also hit with a wave of sexual harassment and assault allegations in 2017.
In November 2017, six woman came forward to expose Ratner in a Los Angeles Times article, including actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge.
He was also accused of rape by Hawaii resident Melanie Kohler and Ratner launched a defamation case against her after she made the allegations public.
The law firm representing Ratner told DailyMail.com at the time: ‘Mr. Ratner does not know Ms. Kohler and does not recall ever meeting her. From the beginning, Mr. Ratner has denied Ms. Kohler’s allegations of sexual assault. In fact, after Ms. Kohler published her allegations in the media, Mr. Ratner sued her for defamation in federal court in Hawaii, where she resides. That lawsuit is still pending.’
He was accused of an array of acts, including harassment, inappropriate touching and forced oral sex.
Ratner denied all allegations.
‘Brett Ratner vehemently denies the outrageous derogatory allegations that have been reported about him, and we are confident that his name will be cleared once the current media frenzy dies down and people can objectively evaluate the nature of these claims,’ his attorney said.
