The Writers Guild of America West have released “sobering” findings of a survey investigating levels of sexual harassment among the union’s members.
The survey found that a “significant amount” of the harassment occurred in writers’ rooms particularly prevalent in US sitcom production.
The memo invoked the California Supreme Court ruling in 2006 known as the “Friends” decision after the comedy of the same name, which ruled that sexually explicit talk in a writers’ room did not amount to sexual harassment.
A separate survey published in February found that 94% of women working more widely in the entertainment industry had experienced sexual harassment or assault.