Bittersweet, indeed!!
Word of the network renewing popular sitcoms “The Game” and “Let’s Stay Together” for new seasons came just as news broke that Nicki Minaj’s infamous butt is involved in a sexual discrimination lawsuit filed against the channel by a former employee.
Allhiphop.com reports the lawsuit was filed April 13 in The Bronx by Tameika Dorman, a former employee who accused a co-worker of repeatedly playing footage of the rapper’s behind while producing a segment for BET.com.
According to the complaint, in February 2009, Dorman was editing a video session with a male camera operator named Derek Clarke, who works in the graphics department for BET. The pair were putting together a previously taped segment that Dorman was hosting and producing.
“During this editing session, Clarke subjected Ms. Dorman to acts of sexual harassment by repeatedly re-playing video footage of her rear end while she was dressed in a short skirt while walking up a set of stairs,” the suit states.
According to Dorman’s lawsuit, she asked Clarke why he kept replaying the footage of her butt.
“Clarke grabbed and repeatedly rubbed his crotch, began to moan and said it was because he loved her butt, that she was sexy and that she did not know what he was going to do [to] her,” the suit states.
Dorman complained to a supervisor over the incident, who said she would never have to work with Clarke again.
When Clarke was assigned to work on a Nicki Minaj segment with Dorman, she complained to Human Resources. Dorman claimed she was eventually removed from producing the BET Hip-Hop Honors show and fired for reporting her claim of sexual harassment.
She also claims her termination was “both retaliatory and based on her gender, including her pregnancy.”
Dorman seeks monetary damages, discriminatory practices, unlawful termination and lawyer fees.
As for cable’s top-rated African American show “The Game,” BET has renewed it for a fifth season.
After CW axed it two years ago, BET has had nothing but ratings success with the series, which drew a record 7.7 million for its BET premiere. The season finale bowed out to 4.4 million.
In addition, the network has picked up a second season of the comedy “Let’s Stay Together” and has given a series order to the sitcom “Reed Between the Lines.” As previously reported, the project stars Tracee Ellis Ross as a psychiatrist juggling her professional and personal lives.
BET will make a formal announcement of the pick-ups at its upfront Wednesday.
eurweb.com