During the eight years Barack Obama was president, Patricia Heaton was a somewhat vocal anti-Obama Republican. She wasn’t constantly talking about politics, but she showed her ass enough times for everyone to get the picture – she was one of those people who hated the ACA and hates women who… want their birth control covered on their health insurance. That speaks volumes. Anyway, Heaton made a big deal about how she wasn’t trying to be political anymore once Donald Trump came into office. She apparently is anti-Trump, or she was a few years ago.
Heaton still shills her conservative-family-friendly image, which is how she’s always popping up with new TV shows. Her latest is on CBS and it’s called Carol’s Second Act. It started in September. Heaton’s husband of 29 years, David Hunt, is an executive producer on the show. And Hunt can’t keep his hands to himself around one young staffer on the show.
In early September, Broti Gupta, a writer on “Carol’s Second Act,” a sitcom starring the Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton, made a formal complaint against David Hunt, an executive producer on the show who is also Ms. Heaton’s husband. Ms. Gupta, 25, accused Mr. Hunt, 65, of touching her inappropriately on two occasions.
When she complained to human resources, Ms. Gupta said she did not think Mr. Hunt should be fired. Instead, she wanted him to go through sexual harassment training and see why he had made her uncomfortable. But after she made the complaint, she felt she was being penalized at work, she said in an interview. She quit the show in mid-September.
Margee Magee, 43, a writer with the title of co-executive producer, resigned in October. She said she quit because she felt she had been stripped of responsibilities after talking to higher-ups about tensions arising from Ms. Gupta’s complaint.
CBS Television Studios said in a statement that it had dealt with the complaints fairly, adding that Mr. Hunt had “cooperated fully with the process.”
So, let me get this straight: an old leech put his hands on an unconsenting 25-year-old coworker (with a significant power imbalance) repeatedly, she told HR and went out of her way to say that she merely wanted her harasser to do a sexual harassment class and for all of that… the 25-year-old woman was punished professionally because DUH, the power imbalance and Hunt was literally her boss. CBS is still a hotbed of toxicity, for sure, even after Les Moonves exited. As for Heaton and Hunt… their marriage sounds gross. Heaton hasn’t said anything about this publicly. Considering her rant about women taking birth control, I think I can probably guess what her reaction is.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
This is still sad. So tired of lame men hurting women they “love.” Just he a good dude, dudes.
It’s an awful show. Nothing remotely realistic when it comes to medicine. I wish they would take it and Heaton off the air.
Yeah, I watched a couple episodes…but its not very funny. And it also just feels dated. its the kind of show I would expect in like the 90s or early 2000s. I mean like in terms of sitcom beats and tropes. I dont know. I can’t imagine it lasting for several years.
I’m glad that at least you’re rookie are coming forward quicker…but god how much must this still be happening and the victim gets penalized 🙁
It infuriates me so much that men continue to do this and that women are punished for it. Ms.Gupta should not have had to put her safety over employment and quit.
Anti Harassment training should be mandatory for all employees/owners not just when someone gets “caught”.
+100
I work in employment law. Sexual harassment training is mandatory in just about every Fortune 500 company. The issue is that it doesn’t work. A one hour training or lunch and learn is not going to stop someone from harassing another person. The only good that ever comes from this training is giving employees information on what to do WHEN they are harassed. In my years of doing investigations and following the pattern of people who harass other people at work, the only real solution I have found is terminating the harasser. As much as I would like to think that training can change someone’s view, unfortunately it doesn’t. If someone is brazen enough to harass another person, they will not stop.
Yup, we have it every couple of years and everyone is required to go, but I get the feeling it doesn’t really do much good and it’s more about the employer doing CYA in case they get sued.
I always felt those training sessions were more of a “how to”, honestly…
Check your state laws. In some states, it is mandatory for companies with certain numbers of employees. If it isn’t it your state, contact your legislators and governors.
No amount of training is going to stop a creep from creepin’.
Nahhhhh, it wasn’t her choice to stop being political. ABC told her to knock it off because it was affecting the bottom line with The Middle (they were looking into syndication).
Two garbage people who continue to be garbage. Shocking.
Pretty telling ABC did not bring her back after The Middle ended.
This sounds more like it. Heaton has always been pure garbage.
Also this story has been out for a while. I read about it from “sources” on twitter. The anon also said that Patricia knows and is an enabler. Garbage people.
There’s no question that Patricia is blaming the women who have come forward.
Of course she is. She and her husband are both trash.
Patricia Heaton has shown herself to be quite the feckless hymen, so that wouldn’t be surprising. Props to Margee for being supportive of Broti in a situation like that instead of being part of the problem.
CBS is horrible. Michael Weatherly suffered ZERO consequences after CBS paid Eliza Dushku 9 million bucks over his behavior. And no one even talks about it. My mother still watches the show. It really upsets me. Her career is probably destroyed.
Ugh. I used to think that guy was cute. I never watched the show (save in waiting rooms and the like), but now I wish there was a “hide” feature on Netflix. It’s so offensive l how many other women did he harass?
So much this. I saw an ad just yesterday for that horrid Weatherly show and went off to my husband. You’re right in how much that was swept under the rug and this will no doubt be as well. I sure Heaton is relatively powerful and can help cover this sh*t up. She is absolutely not anti-Trump…she has always been an a**hole.
Not to mention his leaving NCIS with a slew of female coworkers in his wake. The accusations at BULL make Cote de Pablo’s sudden departure from NCIS suspect. Harassers don’t magically wake up and harass at that level; they build those “skills” through systematic ignorance of the organization, which emboldens them to continue and get worse.
It has been my experience that a majority of people who claimed they were anti-Trump before the election were lying because they thought he was going to lose, and once he won they let the Trump flag fly. So query if she really is anti-Trump. Also I remember her going on The View and saying all sorts of stuff about women being submissive to their husbands, wearing their hair and clothes the way that their husbands wanted, etc.
And her opposition to insuranxe-covered birth control went beyond that. She actually attacked women who advocated for it as lazy, entitled sluts, if not in those words, in that spirit.
Utterly disgusting.
I applaud the other writer/producer who left for standing up against this too, but neither of them should be out of a job. I hope they both sue CBS for continuing to permit hostile work environments and sexual harassment. You’d think after Mooves and Weatherly they’d be running a tighter ship with zero tolerance for this crap.
The only encouraging thing here is that this young woman didn’t feel she had to take it or suffer in silence. I hope both women are hired on better shows.
Heaton has always seemed very sanctimonious and unpleasant.
We have all known Patricia Heaton is garbage for a long time so not surprised her man is a rapey POS. Despicable.
Ugh, I did not know this about her. I loved Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle was kind of cute at times. I did see her on a cooking show one night when I couldn’t sleep and thought her personality was a bit bland….what a disappointment. I had not watched her new show and I for sure won’t now.
It’s kind of ironic, right? Her Raymond character was kind of feminist and social justice-y, especially for the time! Then to see her personal views- it’s quite different! I also loved that show 🙂
I looked up her tweets about birth control/Sandra Fluke, and Patricia Heaton is TERRIBLE. She was spouting the old “ladies, just put an aspirin between your knees” for birth control aka slut shaming. She’s awful.
Never liked her as a person.
I enjoyedRaymond and the Middle more because of the writing vs. P.Heaton.
Ick to her and the gropey creep of hers.
THAT is the face of a heavy drinker, right there.
That really jumped out at me too. If he were a decent person I would care.
Some ‘decomposing while alive’ Steve Bannon energy on that here fella.
How can you tell? Im genuinely curious
The EEOA and many states prohibit retaliation against anyone who has engaged in a protected act, filing a sexual harassment complaint is a protected act. The court awards higher damages for retaliation claims than for the initial harassment claims. Both women have retaliation claims.
As for Heaton, she is one of those who have constantly whined that conservatives can’t get hired in Hollywood, despite the fact that she has worked consistently for decades.
Yes, both she and Kelsey Grammar have whined about that in the past. Both have had consistent employment – and not little stuff either, but highly paid leading roles on network shows for DECADES.
Also, mayyyybee your employment options have been limited by the fact that you drag along this handsy POS “producer” spouse to every project… Not every network is willing to put up with this kind of negative press. I mean, for CBS, it’s apparently their brand, so.
Obviously folks have not learned, disgusting that he is still on set, employed!
No words for her..
Not surprised that things haven’t changed–at all. Sigh.
Remember when Patricia repeatedly slut-shamed a Georgetown University student on Twitter who advocated for that accessible birth control? Of course it’s her blaming the woman who came forward while she continues to defend her predator husband. Yeah, she and her husband are two garbage people who continue to be garbage. ETA: Ah, I see you linked to the Georgetown story, but it bears repeating.
At the time I wasn’t aware, but just reviewed them now. Oooof, her comments are so awful.
Didn’t she compare herself to being similar to God? God creates and actors create. She goes on Colbert and shows the world what a good Catholic and Christian she is.
Patricia Heaton has always been a tool. Not surprising she’s married to one.
Ugh he is disgusting and so is his wife
She’s a right wing nut job, big surprise.
Can’t stand her and won’t watch anything she’s in. CBS always sides with the ratings and like NBC, still has no interest in changing their toxic culture. Look at what happened with that show Bull and Eliza Dushku.