CBS renewed Bull for a fourth season today but it all seemed in poor taste given how the star of the series, Michael Weatherly, allegedly treated actress Eliza Dushku during her time on the series.
The actress wrote a 2,300-word account for the Boston Globe condemning her co-star, as well as Bull writer-producer Glenn Gordon Caron and CBS. The network apparently thought her claims had merit because they paid Dushku $9.5 million in a settlement. The total represented the amount of her contract had she been a series regular for six seasons.
Dushku only talked publicly about the incident after Weatherly and Caron did so first in a story for the “New York Times.” Weatherly, at the time, said this in a statement:
“During the course of taping our show, I made some jokes mocking some lines in the script. When Eliza told me she wasn’t comfortable with my language and attempt at humor, I was mortified to have offended her and immediately apologized. After reflecting on this further, I better understand that what I said was both not funny and not appropriate and I am sorry and regret the pain this caused Eliza.”
Weatherly’s “apology” didn’t sit well with her which led to her writing the essay for the “Boston Globe.” Most of Dushku’s accounts were actually caught on video or recorded on set so it was believed that this was more than mere jokes about lines in a script. The parties agreed to keep it all private but once Weatherly made a statement, all bets were off.
Interestingly enough, Steven Spielberg and his Amblin TV, which executive produced Bull, were also called out by Dushku in her piece and after the renewal announcement today, it was revealed that Spielberg and Amblin TV are no longer associated with the show.
Bull is one of the CBS’ top performers and reaches 11.4 million viewers. The series was developed and brought to CBS in 2016 under the leadership of Leslie Moonves, who has since been fired from CBS Corp after facing numerous allegations of sexual misconduct.
