Valerie Harper has been sued for concealing her cancer diagnosis to an employer. The lawsuit could cost her 2 million dollars, but it hasn’t stopped the 74 year old actress from losing hope or working.
Harper has gone through a roller coaster of hope and despair after her diagnosis of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis last year. She joined the cast of Dancing with the Stars and did her best to continue working. Just last week, it was announced that she was “getting pretty close to a remission”. Despite the good news, Harper was having trouble remembering lines, a problem that has brought forth a lawsuit.
TMZ reported that the producers and playwright of the Broadway show Looped have filed suit against the actress. They allege that Harper deliberately concealed the cancer diagnosis in order to be hired. When she had to leave the show prematurely, the playwright, Matthew Lombardo, was left scrambling to find a suitable replacement, a situation which he says cost him 500,000 dollars. Lombardo is also asking for an additional 1.5 million dollars, bringing the entire suit to 2 million dollars. Harper also has a lawsuit against the producers and Lombardo, claiming that she was not paid her full contact when she left the show.
The lawsuit does not seem to be a detractor for the Hallmark Channel, who recently signed Harper on for their new show Signed, Sealed, Delivered. The LA Times reported that Valerie Harper will play the supervisor of a group of civil servants dedicated to delivering lost mail. Producer and writer Martha Williamson said “Valerie is somebody who would take a challenge like this and turn it into an opportunity to encourage other people. The first thing she and Tony said to me when I told them about the show was we want to use this show as an opportunity to encourage other people.”
The actress’s Twitter account is filled with information and buzz about the new series, just like it was for Looped five years ago. It will remain to be seen if the actress makes any statement about the lawsuit, or if any other employers come forward with suits of their own.
"Signed, Sealed And Delivered" pic.twitter.com/rRbciBAu0N
— Valerie Harper (@ValerieHarper) April 20, 2014
Image via Wikimedia Commons.
