In the current atmosphere of the #metoo movement, we wake up each day wondering who will be the next person accused of Sexual Harassment. It is doubtful that anyone, however, expected Fred Savage to be that person. Alley Mills, who played the mom on "The Wonder Years" from 1988 to 1993, recently announced that sexual harassment claims against the show's star, Savage, led to its cancellation after six seasons.
Costume designer accused two stars of harassment
Mills, who played mom Norma Arnold to Savage's character Kevin Arnold, claims in a recent interview with Yahoo Entertainment that "The Wonder Years" costume designer Monique Long accused both Savage and the actor who played his brother Wayne, Jason Hervey, of physical and verbal sexual harassment.
According to Mills, Long claimed that Savage, who was 16 years old at the time, told her, on more than one occasion, that he was in love with her and wanted to have a love affair with her. She further alleged that Hervey, age 20 at the time of the accusations, repeatedly grabbed her and mimicked having sex. In her lawsuit, Long claimed that these alleged incidents prevented her from being able to do her job well and caused her to be fired.
Cast was under a gag order
Mills went on to say, in the interview, that the entire cast of "The Wonder Years" was placed under a gag order and forbidden to talk about the sexual harassment claims against Savage and Hervey. Mills claims that the drama's network, ABC, paid Long off in an undisclosed, out-of-court settlement to silence her.
Neither Savage nor ABC has commented on Mills' recent allegations. Mills calls the entire incident a "joke," saying that Savage was "the least offensive, most wonderful, sweet human being that ever walked the face of the earth."
Poor performance or sexual harassment?
In a 1993 interview with People magazine, an unnamed female crew member of "The Wonder Years" stated that Long's firing was not because of her sexual harassment claims, but rather, due to poor job performance.
This crew member said that Long would often be sleeping or in the bathroom when she was needed on the set and was let go because "she was not a team player." Long's attorney disagreed, telling People at the time that Long was not fired for poor performance on "The Wonder Years."
Uncertainty surrounded show's series finale
Mills told Yahoo Entertainment that when the series finale of "The Wonder Years" was being shot, it was uncertain whether this would actually be the end of the show. "I just thought this was a joke," she said. "You know, they bought her off, which made me mad. You know, you don't pay someone off when there was no crime, you just fire the girl."