This spring, the New York Times put out an interview with the Arrested Development cast in which Jessica Walter, who plays matriarch Lucille Bluth, cried and revealed that she’d been verbally assaulted by costar Jeffrey Tambor. Tambor had been allowed to quit Transparent months prior to that after it came out that he’d sexually harassed several women on set. So it was known that he was an utter piece of sh-t. However audio and the transcript of the NYT interview show how Walter’s male costars, including Jason Bateman and David Cross, laughed, talked over her and made excuses for Tambor.
One man who stood up for Walter was Thomas Sadoski, an actor who’d worked with her on a film that’s now in post production called The Mimic. After the interview, Sadoski posted a photo with Walter. He wrote, in part, that screaming at someone isn’t acceptable in any industry and that “excusing that kind of behavior is pathetic.” He was directly calling out Bateman and the other men in the room for talking over Walter, and it was wonderful and true. Sadoski is an ally.
Being a decent human being and speaking out cost Sadoski some work, according to his wife. Amanda Seyfried retweeted the post from her husband in defense of Walter and wrote this:
Here’s a somewhat recent post from my husband who, in return for standing beside a badass woman who’d recently been bullied, recently lost out on a job because of this. I’d rather speak up and lose out. Integrity, ladies and gentlemen.
The more I hear about the film industry, the more disturbed I am. So Sadoski did the right thing and paid for it. I’m sure he’ll be fine but it’s a reminder of how this type of abuse flourishes when people pointing it out get punished. That is true of so many industries and of the current rotten system of white supremacy that we call a government.
Bonus photos of FINN!
Photos are via Instagram and credit WENN.
(Thanks to those of you who tweeted me about this however I searched, did not find it, and did not see it until other outlets picked it up. If you’d like us to cover something, please include information on where you found it, thanks!)
This is why we need privileged allies. The ones who can afford to lose out. The ones who will be OK if they miss out on a job, because another one will come their way. Think of the actors, crews, behind the scenes people who don’t know if their next job will come after speaking out, yet are judged the same for not risking everything to do so.
I’ve always thought their relationship was hinky in terms of beginning, but once he spoke out for Jessica, I am nothing but a fan.
THIS! yes! the sick reality is that hollywood is filled iwth far more vile, manipulative fake allies than it is with people like sadoski. meet your heroes and they will disappoint you. hollywood will NEVER be the moral authority because it is filled with snakes. totally backwards. remember, these are the same people, including beloved meryll streep, that praised a child rapist, roman polanski. they are sick. good for sadoski for doing the right thing, even at a cost. we need more like him.
This is everywhere. I left LA because of men feeling entitled to touch me, kiss me, scream at me wherever I was. It lessened in the Bay Area. But LA and NYC are the worst. I hate being alone with male colleagues, because I’m afraid of being triggered. Lots of therapy. Everyone thought I was an actress who wanted to f&xk her way to the top. I was a damn student and budding researcher!!! I HATE this. Jessica Walter is a national treasure, but, when you need to eat and keep your job, her reaction is the exact training you get from other women when trying to survive in jobs everywhere. I coach young women to this day when they approach me about how to handle men in these awful situations. You stand up for yourself in as non-threatening a way as you can to keep your job. It’s why many men don’t want to stand up for us even though they KNOW it’s wrong not to.
God I love him. He’s probably one of the most rewarding instagram users I’ve followed. I also really really really love Life in Pieces (but am not up to date on the latest season).
It’s sad that this is almost always the case – not just in acting. A lot of the times the better employees get punished in various ways for bad employees poor behavior or performance. I end up having to take over so much work from incompetent people because rather than punish/correct the issue they just pile onto the people who are competent. I will say the one time I brought up an issue with the things some of the male employees were saying my boss did shut it down quickly. I know a lot of people aren’t as lucky.
I’ve loved him ever since he spoke out in defense of Jessica. And I’m glad Amanda called out the BS of him losing a job as a result. We need more people who call out this BS (and being in a position to do that is obviously a privilege, so I also hope more people have the luxury of feeling safe enough to call out this awful behavior).
I love that he supported her to, but it’s sad to praise a man simply for doing the right thing.
I do find it funny that Amanda calls him the face of integrity, considering they started their relationship when he was still married.
The entertainment industry was built on an infrastructure of greed, avarice and depravity….nothing has changed…and everything is MUCH…MUCH WORSE because the MAJORITY of the power brokers…are the ones that are the most amoral and disgusting of them all….
I’ve always liked Thomas Sadoski since his days as the awesome “Don” on The Newsroom, and it makes me happy to see he seems like a pretty awesome dude in real life too. But man, is this dispiriting. He’s not some newcomer to the industry- he’s got plenty of roles under his belt, has plenty of friends, and has worked with some great people. And yet still, because he did the right thing and spoke up for a woman who had been treated shamefully, he loses out on work? Because what- he was a good guy?! He didn’t throw anyone up against a wall or anything, he simply stood up for Jessica Walter.
God! No wonder so many in Hollywood are silent about what goes on there, if putting up a post on INSTAGRAM costs you work. How depressing. But it makes me even more appreciative of people like Sadoski, who know it might cost them, but also know they are in a position where they CAN afford to speak up and pay that cost, and so they do it anyway. I hope he gets plenty of great roles coming his way in future- I liked him as an actor anyway, as I said, but now I’ll be doubly enthusiastic about supporting his projects!
I literally do not understand how Tambor got away with this. IN WHAT UNIVERSE IS JEFFREY TAMBOR A BIGGER STAR THAN JESSICA WALTER???
Every time I see anything about Arrested Development and the NYT article, I get angry, especially at Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Bateman, and David Cross. Even if you feel Tambor should be defended, let Jessica talk! She was obviously upset over the situation and deserved to tell her story without being interrupted and bullied. Jessica has been in showbiz for many decades, since at least the early 1960s, and has always exuded class, even in comedies and animated series, and dignity. For her to become emotional in front of a reporter she must have really been affected by Jeffrey’s behavior and she should feel free to tell her story.
Thank you, Thomas Sadoski, for defending Jessica and I’m sorry you lost work because of it. We need more men and women speaking out for what they believe, regardless of the consequence. And thank you Amanda Seyfried for letting people know what happened.