A few weeks after being fired from the Broadway-bound play Tea at Five, Faye Dunaway is back in the news. A former assistant is claiming in a new lawsuit that the actress mistreated and verbally abused him — including making homophobic remarks — before firing him. Michael Rocha described his duties for Dunaway as doing her shopping, helping to administer her medication, keeping track of her schedule, and getting her to and from rehearsals for the show. From the time of his hiring in April to his termination in June, Rocha claims Dunaway “regularly and relentlessly subjected plaintiff to abusive demeaning tirades,†according to a report by “Page Six“. Rocha, who is gay, says the actress also invoked his sexuality as a pejorative to “demean and humiliate him at work.†He also claims to have a recording of her calling him “a little homosexual boy.â€
During the Tea at Five run in Boston, Dunaway reportedly created a “hostile†and “dangerous†environment backstage at the one-woman show. She was said to be frequently late to rehearsals, and a June 10 performance had to be canceled because she “slapped and threw things at crew members†while they were trying to fasten a wig to her head. “Page Six†also reported that “it didn’t help that she absolutely bombed onstage during performances.†Tea at Five is set to be recast for a run in London next spring.