Fred Savage has been axed from ‘The Wonder Years’ revival series after ‘three separate allegations’ of ‘inappropriate conduct’ were made against him. Savage, who starred as Kevin Arnold on the original sitcom, had been serving as the executive producer and director on the ABC reboot until complaints about his behavior prompted an investigation.
“Recently, we were made aware of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Fred Savage, and as is policy, an investigation was launched,” a spokesperson for Disney’s 20th Television said in a statement.
Fred Savage Fired From ‘Wonder Years’ Reboot, Prompts Inappropriate Conduct Investigation
“Upon its completion, the decision was made to terminate his employment as an executive producer and director of ‘The Wonder Years,” the statement explained.
The details of the allegations against Savage are currently unknown but sources claim that he subjected the cast and crew to numerous ‘verbal outbursts’ while on set.
These new allegations against Savage mark the third time that the former child star’s conduct has been called into question.
In 1993, ‘Wonder Years’ costume designer Monique Long accused Fred Savage and his co-star Jason Hervey of sexual harassment and alleged that the actors “verbally and physically harassed her daily”. Savage was 16 years old at the time, while Hervey was 20. Long filed a lawsuit against the young actors that was eventually settled out of court.
Actress Alley Mills, who played Savage’s mother on the hit series, publicly defended him. She called the suit “completely ridiculous” and insisted that Savage was “the least offensive, most wonderful, sweet human being that ever walked the face of the Earth.” In 2018, Mills also claimed that the lawsuit was the reason for the original show’s cancellation.
The accuser stood by her claims, saying “,My only response to Ms. Mills’s slander is that it proves exactly why women in the industry are forced to remain silent about sexual harassment”. Savage was faced with more allegations of inappropriate conduct in 2015 while filming the Fox series ‘The Grinder’.
Youngjoo Hwang, who worked in the show’s wardrobe department, filed a lawsuit against Savage accusing him of “creating a hostile work environment, berating her, and physically assaulting her”. She also claimed that Savage “violently struck” her on the arm three times. The lawsuit claims that Savage had developed a reputation for “being verbally abusive to female crew members”. Hwang also said that she was “scared of the abuse and what [she’d] have to encounter on any given day” at work.”
Savage refuted all claims of abuse and misconduct against him, saying that the allegations were “completely without merit and absolutely untrue”. The network also backed up Savage and released a statement saying, “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.”
This is now the third time that Fred Savage has been accused of acting inappropriately while at work. With such a lengthy history of alleged misconduct, things certainly are not looking good for him.
