Wendy Williams Show 2014: Intern Sues Lionsgate Production Company Over Unpaid Wages
Anthony Tart, a former un-paid intern on "The Wendy Williams Show," has filed a lawsuit against "TWWS" production company, Lionsgate and its affiliate, Debmar Mercury, for failure to pay him and other "Wendy Show" interns for their work on the show.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Tart seeks "to recover wages he claims he and similarly situated interns are owed under New York and federal labor laws."
Tart's wage amount is not specified in his complaint, according to Deadline. Instead, the former intern and his lawyers will determine an exact amount "at trial, in the amount equal to the amount of unpaid wages, liquidated damages, interest, attorneys' fees and costs," says Deadline.
In addition to his claims of no-pay, Tart's complaint also states that "TWWS" interns were provided with "zero educational or vocational training" because they were made to perform unrelated internship tasks such as "washing dishes, getting coffee, picking up art supplies and throwing out garbage," Deadline reports.
Tart claims that Lionsgate and its affiliate company chose to use interns in replacement of actual hired employees as part of a "corporate policy or practice of minimizing labor costs."
Due to Lionsgate's alleged unfair treatment of its interns, Tart's complaint seeks to implement a class action certification that will pay Tart along with the 100 "TWWS" interns that have worked for the show since 2008, the Hollywood Reporter reports.
Tart's complaint follows a similar complaint made by Fox Searchlight interns Alex Footman and Eric Glatt, who won their lawsuit and were granted a class action certification over all internships within Fox Entertainment Group, says THR.
THR also states that Lionsgate continues to be one of the few production companies that does not pay its interns. However, the company now claims that it will start paying its interns in the spring.
Tart is being represented by Virginia & Ambinder's Lloyd Ambinder and Leeds Brown's Jeffrey Brown. He was an intern at "TWWS" two full days a week from August to December 2012, Deadline reports.
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