Settlement talks to resolve a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a Black former makeup artist for the canceled “Good Trouble” television series will continue despite a failed initial settlement effort, a Disney Entertainment LLC attorney has told a judge.
Plaintiff Lisa Morgan worked on the Disney-owned Freeform Channel and alleges she was openly exposed to ethnic remarks and gestures in the workplace.
On Tuesday, a Disney attorney informed Judge Christopher Lui that although an accord was not reached in an internal court settlement program, negotiations aimed at reaching an accord will continue, while discovery in preparation for the scheduled Nov. 2 trial also will take place.
Morgan also is suing Hop Skip & Jump Productions and individuals Angela Peralta and Jacqueline Kolompar and Dan Coffie. Morgan alleges discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
According to Morgan’s suit, she has more than three decades of experience as a makeup artist and has worked at ESPN, NBC and KTLA. She was hired by Disney and HSJP in October 2021 to work on season 4 of “Good Trouble.”
Peralta was the head of the makeup department, Kolompar was Morgan’s immediate supervisor and Coffie was the producer of “Good Trouble,” according to the suit.
“Almost immediately after being hired, plaintiff was subjected to racial discrimination and a hostile work environment by defendant Peralta and her cronies,” the suit states.
Peralta’s alleged racial comments about Morgan included, “She knew how to do Black faces because she worked on all the Black shows,” according to the suit, which additionally alleges that Peralta insinuated that Morgan got her job because of her race.
Peralta told Morgan that hair department members had also made derogatory statements about the plaintiff, who believed that as a supervisor Peralta should have tried to diffuse the situation instead of “throwing gas on the fire,” the suit states.
Morgan began suffering mental stress and dreaded going to work, feelings that continued through the end of the series’ season, according to the suit, which additionally states that Morgan at first declined to return for the next season.
Morgan sought therapy for deep depression and no longer wanted to work in an industry she had been a part of since she was 20 years old, the suit states. Morgan eventually changed her mind and agreed to return for the show’s fifth season under certain conditions, but in a November 2022 meeting, Kolompar allegedly mocked the plaintiff by making stereotypical gestures of a black woman.
Peralta did not reprimand Kolompar and instead tried to convince Morgan that Kolompar did not mean anything improper, according to the suit.
Two days after Morgan told Peralta by email the next month that she would be reporting her racial concerns to human resources, Peralta went “ballistic” and screamed at the plaintiff for doing so, the suit states.
Although by January 2023 management appeared to be sympathetic to her racial concerns and would be imposing discipline, that same month Peralta and Coffie fired the plaintiff, the suit states.
Morgan has suffered financial losses and continues to experience emotional distress, the suit states. “Good Trouble” was canceled in December 2023.