YoungJoo Hwang, a costume designer on the now-canceled Fox show The Grinder, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday that accused actor Fred Savage of harassment, discrimination, assault, and battery, according to CNN.
Savage has since denied the accusations, calling them “completely without merit and absolutely untrue” in a lengthy statement.
Hwang’s lawsuit includes details such as Savage allegedly hitting Hwang with an open hand as she tried to dust off his clothing during a shoot.
“[Hwang] went over to [Savage] to brush dandruff off his jacket, and he immediately yelled at her, ‘Get the f*ck away from me,’ and ‘Don’t f*cking touch me,’ something to that effect, and then violently struck her arm three times,” Hwang’s attorney, Anahita Sedaghatfar, told the New York Daily News.
Sedaghatfar and Hwang appeared in a press conference on Wednesday to discuss the accusations, and Hwang further detailed the alleged incident.
“Mr. Savage snapped,” Hwang said at the press conference. “I could not stop crying. I was in pain. I was humiliated, and I was scared.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hwang’s lawsuit also claimed that Savage was “verbally abusive and had a reputation for tormenting female crew members.”
Fox issued a statement on Wednesday saying an investigation had already been conducted and “found no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Savage.” Sedaghatfar, however, said Fox did not conduct an independent investigation.
The network added, “We will vigorously defend against these unfounded claims.”
See a copy of Hwang’s complaint here.