Yahoo Movies Law & Order: SVU showrunner accused of bullying, misogyny, and 'toxic' behavior
Over the course of 24 seasons, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has become one of the most popular and enduring shows on television. But the beloved cops-and-courts drama, which regularly tackles hot-button issues such as sexual violence, domestic abuse, and the exploitation of power and privilege, is now at the center of a controversy over allegations of workplace misconduct and bullying against its recently named showrunner, David Graziano.
According to a lengthy Los Angeles Times report published Thursday, the veteran writer and producer, 50, has been accused by more than a dozen people who have worked with him over the years of mistreating subordinate staffers, being volatile and quick to anger, and making inappropriate and demeaning comments toward women and people of color.
Haley Cameron, a script coordinator who exited SVU not long after Graziano took the helm in June, reportedly wrote on an industry listserv that her former boss "is a very unprofessional, ego-centric, and immature man." She added, "I have been in this industry a long time, and I have never experienced such pure, white-male misogyny." Cameron declined to comment to the Times.
Tommaso Boddi/Getty David Graziano
Amy Hartman, who worked as a script coordinator under Graziano on the 2021 crime drama Coyote, reportedly wrote on the same listserv, "Graz is super toxic and I've never run from a job so fast in my life as I did when I SC'ed for him. Stay away." Hartman told the Times of working with Graziano, "Every day I was in fight or flight." She also said she was "completely floored that he was working again and working on [SVU]."
David James, who also worked on Coyote as a script coordinator, told the Times it was "easily the worst job I've had in Hollywood." He added, "I thought after this show, no one would give [Graziano] another show to run."
Many of the individuals who spoke to the Times did so on condition of anonymity for fear of personal or professional repercussions.
Virginia Sherwood/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Mariska Hargitay on 'Law & Order: SVU'
A spokesperson for Graziano, Alafair Hall, said in a statement to EW, "The implication that Mr. Graziano created a hostile work environment, is sexist, inappropriate, and unprofessional is false."
Regarding Cameron, the former SVU script coordinator, Hall said that she only "worked briefly" on the show and was "about to be fired" for making unapproved script changes.
Hall also said it was "absolutely false" that Graziano made inappropriate comments about women or people of color. She added, "Any statement related to race, ethnicity, or gender by Mr. Graziano was made in the context of creating the storyline, characters, and dialogue."
Hall said that while working on Coyote, Graziano "snapped at people and was generally in a bad mood" because he was in "excruciating pain" from three collapsed discs in his neck. "While he does not view his pain as an excuse, it is an explanation, and he regrets lashing out."
In a statement provided to EW, Graziano himself said, "Though it would be easy and convenient, I refuse to blame some past behavior on the abuse I suffered and learned as a child at the hands of a Catholic priest as well as my own mother. For anyone who has worked as a showrunner or in a writers' room, you must draw on and use your own experience. Particularly for a show like Law & Order: SUV, I regrettably have a lot to draw from and with it brings a great deal of emotion. All any of us can do is evolve and grow. Real change is hard, and I continue to work on myself."
EW has reached out to representatives for NBC, which airs SVU, and Wolf Entertainment, the production company behind the Law & Order franchise, for comment.
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