Ari Zucker Sues Over Alleged Sexual Harassment On 'Days Of Our Lives'

Ari Zucker is accusing Albert Alarr of sexual misconduct on the set of 'Days Of Our Lives.'

According to legal documents obtained by The Blast, the well-known actress with multiple awards and nominations filed a lawsuit against the soap opera producer for sexual harassment and discrimination.

In the documents, Zucker discloses that she started working at Corday Productions, owned by Ken Corday, around 1998. While she performed her duties as a "prominent and leading actress" for the company, she was subjected to severe and ongoing harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment, by Alarr upon his employment.

This behavior allegedly included making inappropriate comments, non-consensual physical touching, and even instances of groping and forced kissing despite complaints from numerous actresses, including Zucker, to Corday and the HR of Sony Pictures Television — the distributors of "Days of Our Lives," the situation reportedly continued unchecked for years.

Corday and Sony's lack of a satisfactory response made the model feel "extremely uncomfortable and violated." She notes that Alarr's behavior extended beyond just making inappropriate comments and unwanted physical touching towards her. 

He allegedly used sexual language during rehearsals and scenes, even in front of the stage crew, and made suggestive comments to Zucker's co-stars. The 67-year-old reportedly enjoyed aggressive and threesome s—x scenes and often followed up his conduct by mentioning the absence of HR. 

In one instance, the actress claims the producer touched her waist with fingers right above her vagina, during blocked of a scene.

Additionally, he allegedly laughed at anti-Semitic remarks made by another actress, contributing to a hostile environment for Zucker, who is Jewish. The actress also supposedly witnessed Alarr harassing other women and making derogatory comments about them, which made her feel intimidated and offended. 

She adds that her contract was set to expire this January, and when she tried to negotiate renewal terms, she was given a "take it or leave it" offer without room for discussion. Despite attempts to negotiate, the offer was refused, leading to her termination. 

This action, which Zucker believes was taken in retaliation against her, has resulted in her suffering "extreme emotional distress."

Ultimately, the 49-year-old is asking that Corday and Alarr pay "mental and emotional distress damages," punitive damages, attorney's fees, restitution, costs of the lawsuits, and compensate her for unpaid wages.

Zucker's misconduct allegations against Alarr are not the first to surface publicly. The executive producer of "Days of Our Lives" had to exit the soap opera after an internal misconduct investigation by Sony in August 2023. 

Janet Drucker, a producer on the show since the 1980s, stepped into his role as co-executive producer. The show's cast and crew learned of the leadership transition in a statement issued by Corday. The Corday Productions head shared:

"Effective immediately, Janet Drucker will be elevated to co-executive producer of Days of Our Lives, replacing Albert Alarr, who will be exiting his role. Moving forward, we will be implementing additional HR protocols, including an increased HR presence as well as channels for reporting any concerns. It is imperative that we have a safe and inclusive workplace environment."

The leadership shift on the long-running NBC soap opera occurred after weeks of public criticism of Alarr's management of the show. 

A report published by U.S. media in July 2023 detailed accusations against the producer-director, including creating a toxic work environment on set and making people feel uncomfortable, among other allegations.

Prior to his tenure at "Days of Our Lives" starting in 2003, Alarr held directorial positions on various soap operas, notably "All My Children" and "Port Charles." Additionally, The Hollywood Reporter pointed out that he contributed his directorial talents to "Home Improvement" and "The Young and the Restless."

Alarr responded to the allegations through his lawyer, Robert M. Barta, saying, "As Albert said when Ms. Zucker first leveled these outrageous claims through the press last year, her baseless allegations were examined in a detailed and entirely independent investigation that lasted for two months. Dozens of individuals cooperated and every claim was thoroughly looked into. At the end of that process, the decision was made that Albert should continue in his role as Co-Executive Producer of Days of Our Lives."

Adding, "As Ms. Zucker’s own lawsuit all but admits, at a time of industry-wide cutbacks, she was aggressively seeking a significant personal pay increase and additional influence on the show. Having failed in those attempts, she is now - again - trying to exploit vile stereotypes to denigrate and demean a Black man who was in a position of power."

He continued, "Well, enough is enough. Every day for decades, Albert worked with hundreds of people who can - and will - testify about the falsity of Ms. Zucker’s mischaracterizations of him. We relish having a chance to share the truth and putting an end to her offensive claims once and for all.”