Actress Nicollette Sheridan had not planned to pursue action against "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry, but changed her mind after being fired from the ABC primetime series, her attorney testified Tuesday.
"We weren't looking for ABC to do anything because Nicollette was concerned about retribution from Mr. Cherry," Neil Meyer testified. "She told me Mr. Cherry was a very vindictive man."
"She was prepared to put her head down and go back to work because she was concerned that if she brought this up, her job would be in jeopardy," Meyer said.
Sheridan alleges that on Sept. 24, 2008, Cherry slapped her on the set, and that after she complained, he vindictively wrote her off the show by killing her character.
In April 2010, the 48-year-old actress filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Cherry and the show's production company Touchstone Television. She's also alleging battery.
Months before the incident, the decision had already been made to kill off Sheridan's character, Edie Britt, Cherry testified Monday.
Cherry acknowledged that he did not tell the actress of the decision until after the studio's HR investigation cleared him of wrongdoing.
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Meyer also testified that since Desperate Housewives let Sheridan go, she’s been unable to land an agent or any new roles.
"I told the truth as best as I could remember it, and that’s all one has to do when giving testimony," Meyer said.
As for Cherry, he hasn’t finished his testimony.
On Tuesday, he stepped aside so other witnesses who have scheduling conflicts could take the stand. Cherry could return to the stand as early as Wednesday.
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