Fred Savage and Fox Sued for Harassment and Assault

A female crew member of the former Fox comedy series, The Grinder has accused actor Fred Savage of assault and intimidation.

On Wednesday, Youngjoo Hwang, who worked as a costume designer on the show, held a press conference with her lawyer from the Cochran Firm, accusing the actor/director of assault, battery, gender discrimination and gender harassment.

Savage categorically denied her claims on the same day, and 20th Century Fox Television, which produced the series, also pushed back, saying that an investigation found no wrongdoing.

Standing in front of reporters at a press conference, Hwang told a different story Wednesday.

“From the outset of the show, Mr. Savage was aggressive towards me,” she said. “He would routinely curse at me, yell at me [and] demean me when all I was trying to do was my job. It became more and more stressful for me to go to work because I was scared of the abuse and what I would encounter on any given day.”

She said that Savage’s behavior was well known on set. One day, attempting to brush dandruff off his jacket during filming, Hwang says he “snapped, yelled at me, told me not to touch him and hit my arm violently three times.”

Hwang said she reported the incident to her superiors, but was told not to pursue her complaint because “a lot of people would lose their jobs and I would never work in this industry again.”

Fox denied Hwang’s allegations in a statement to USA Today. “Fox takes all allegations of improper conduct very seriously. We conducted a thorough investigation into these allegations and found no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Savage. We will vigorously defend against these unfounded claims.”

Hwang’s lawyer, Anahita Sedaghatfar, called Fox’s claim that it conducted an investigation “categorically false.”

Sedaghatfar said her client has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles but has not yet filed assault and battery reports with local police, even though the alleged incidents would have taken place at least two years ago.

In his own statement, Savage called the costume designer’s allegations “absolutely untrue.”

“As someone who has always tried to live honorably and with integrity, it never dawned on me that my name could be on the other side,” he said. “I was made aware that a woman working in the costume department of a show I was on almost three years ago has claimed that I treated her harshly on set simply because she was a woman. These accusations are completely without merit and absolutely untrue.”

He said the reason Fox’s investigation proved “none of (Hwang’s) claims could be substantiated because they did not happen. I have been working in the entertainment industry my whole life and have always endeavored to treat everyone on any set I work on respectfully and professionally.”