CBS Sued by ‘NCIS: New Orleans’ Actors Claiming Robbery Scene Killed
Written by SOURCE on October 12, 2020
Actors who portrayed robbers pulling off a jewelry heist for an episode of NCIS: New Orleans have filed a lawsuit against CBS, alleging that things went off the rails when *real* cops showed up with *real* weapons and almost killed them.
TMZ reports that the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles against the network by two actors who played out the scene, in addition to the jewelry store’s real-life owner. The plaintiffs have accused CBS of misleading them into a “guerrilla-style” scene in which they robbed the store, while armed, in broad daylight. They further claim that CBS didn’t acquire the proper permits to film, and that local cops weren’t given any advance notice of what was set to take place.
The trio says they were approached by the show’s producers in October 2017 about the scene, and that they said they’d do so because they believed it would be a normal television shoot.
They say that CBS failed to let the police and the businesses around the jewelry store know what was going on. TMZ writes that the event in question took place “in the middle of a busy New Orleans shopping center.”
The suit says that an owner for a store next to the jewelry retailer called 911 after watching the actors emerge from an unmarked van donning ski masks, and carrying realistic assault rifles, before shouting that “This is a robbery!”
You can understand why that might have been of some alarm.
The actors say that cops got to the store quickly and pointed their actual weapons at the performers.
The three are claiming that they’re traumatized by that day’s events, and that they continue to deal with the resulting emotional stress. They are seeking damages.
In response, CBS has tried to get the suit thrown out of California court. They contend that the event occurred in Louisiana, and thus the case should be filed there. Responding to that, lawyers for the plaintiffs say that California is the appropriate venue for the case because the show is produced by CBS in Los Angeles.
