It seems no one is safe from tales of behind-the-scenes drama on popular TV show sets, even Miss Piggy. In Maureen Ryan's new tell-all Hollywood book, Burn It Down, about behind-the-scenes misdeeds on the set of some of the most successful television series — the accusations are coming fast and furious. The book, whose full title is Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood, was released on Tuesday. In excerpts reported on by Yahoo Entertainment, some of the most toxic workplace claims came from TV mainstays like Saturday Night Live, Lost, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Muppets (the live action ABC version from 2015-2016).
At Saturday Night Live, the book reported on an SNL superfan blogger who made a claim of sexual assault against a cast member, Horatio Sanz, in an incident during a cast-after party. Sanz was reportedly “in full view of a number of SNL employees and cast members.”
At Lost, there were reports of bullying and discrimination directed toward the minority cast members by the show runners.
At The Muppets, a high-ranking female writer complained of the male show runner having “little respect” for Miss Piggy, which created “a constant battle” for her in the writers' room and was emblematic of the alleged misogyny on set.
Meanwhile, at Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ryan delves into reports against Jeff Garlin, who was famously fired for his behavior on The Goldbergs set, but remains a cast member on the HBO show. Sources close to the show told the author that Garlin “used demeaning, graphic, sexual language in the workplace; that his behavior was investigated by HBO, and those investigations touched on the harassment or mistreatment of people connected to the show.”
Maureen Ryan is a long-time entertainment industry reporter and current contributing editor for Vanity Fair, so Burn It Down is sure to be taken seriously. Hollywood stars, muppet or otherwise, better consider themselves on notice.
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