Producer Sam Wineman has filed a lawsuit in California against former Queer for Fear co-producer Bryan Fuller for allegations of sexual assault, retaliation and other misconduct. Bryan Fuller is recognized as a professional in the industry for his work on the megahit Hannibal, Heroes, and Star Trek: Discovery.
Serious Allegations Against Bryan Fuller
Sam Wineman is alleging that Fuller treated him with hostility by having him terminated from the Queer for Fear project after Wineman brought complaints to the AMC Networks and Steakhaus Productions about Fuller.
The lawsuit alleges that Wineman experienced retaliatory actions by Fuller once he formally complained about the uncomfortable and hostile working environment. Wineman was terminated as a producer on Queer for Fear in August 2021.
Coworkers Tell a Different Story
Sam Wineman was just one of the many individuals who worked with Fuller on the Queer for Fear project and the many others that Fuller has produced. These individuals have different stories to tell about their time with Fuller and their memories from time on the set. They also provide a perspective of Wineman’s skills and performance with the docuseries, saying it was his lack of ability that led to his termination.
Meg Chase, Wineman’s production assistant for the docuseries doesn’t recall any of the events the way the lawsuit alleges. She shared a close connection to Wineman throughout the project and can’t confirm the versions of these incidents as he recalls. She also feels the lawsuit makes references to her behaviors during that time but has taken the moments completely out of context.
Steak House, an executive producer for the docuseries and who worked closely with Wineman, publicly contradicted Wineman’s version of events. House is a veteran indie filmmaker and is respected in his field and states that the back-cracking incident had no impropriety or unprofessionalism in it. He mentions that no one on the crew ever made mention of the situation as being weird. House was known on the set for immediately resolving situations that led to people feeling uncomfortable.
Christian Lainez is also contradicting the allegations against Bryan Fuller. Lainez worked as a sound mixer for the Queer for Fear project. He states that the project was one of the most positive experiences of his life. He states that group conversations about queer film and cinema often included references to sex and there was nothing personal or harassing about any of it.
Support for Bryan Fuller
Since the lawsuit became public, 14 of Fuller’s coworkers from the project have come forward to share their experiences on the set and around Wineman and Fuller. They support the statements concerning Wiseman’s lack of skill on the project and his termination for gross misconduct. Bryan Fuller has not made any public comments on the suit.