'Traumatized' Skinemax Actress Countersued by Producer

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—We have to wonder why Hollywood doesn't have its own version of the Pink Cross Foundation, where actresses who believe they've been sexually wronged by the mainstream industry can vent their anger and throw around charges they seem to have trouble backing up when push comes to shove? Consider the case of Anne Greene, who in December, 2012, as "Anne G.," filed a complaint against True Crime, LLC, producers of the Cinemax After Dark series Femme Fatales; Time-Warner Media, which owns HBO, of which Cinemax is a division; and "Does 1-250," who allegedly caused or contributed to Greene's claimed injuries. When AVN first wrote about the suit, Greene's complaint wasn't available, but in a recent story, The Hollywood Reporter linked to it, and it paints a not-very-pretty picture of an actress who supposedly accepted a role on Femme Fatales without realizing that she'd be required to appear topless and with a "pasty" covering her pussy—and that on Day 2 of the shoot, after having been deluged (she claims) with "rewrite after rewrite... which completely changed the agreement Plaintiff originally consented to," she balked when asked to perform "the new scenes requiring the requested nudity and performance of sexual intercourse." (We're guessing she means simulated sexual intercourse...) It should be noted that several adult industry actresses have played roles on Femme Fatales, and from AVN's earlier research, it appears that none of them were "blindsided" by the call for nudity or simulated intercourse; in fact, they knew it was expected of nearly every actress in the series. "Under the duress and threat of significant pecuniary retribution if she did not comply, Plaintiff performed as requested all the while having emotional breakdowns in a state of shock," the complaint reads, later adding, "As a result, plaintiff was required to rehearse practically nude due to the malfunctioning pasties on a non-closed set devoid of non-essential production crew. The on-set rewrites while the camera was rolling, sexual comments, threats of financial retribution, among other things, created an intimidating, sexually hostile and offensive work environment." Finally, after being "so completely traumatized by the events, lack of adherence to AFTRA rules and regulations and sexually hostile working environment that she left her employment prior to the final scene...," she filed her lawsuit, charging "Violation of California Gov't Code §12940 - Fair Employment & Housing Act" (?), "Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress" and "Negligent Hiring/Supervision." Among the complaints Greene alleges is one which should also dismay adult performers: "During one of the scenes at issue, Defendants informed Plaintiff that she would be performing a scene depicting aggressive sexual intercourse with a male performer while she was topless with a pasty on her vagina and nothing more than a sock on the male performer's private parts... During this particular scene the male performer began to bleed from the mouth resulting in a transference of blood onto Plaintiff's face and body. When Plaintiff communicated this fact to production during the scene she was informed to 'Keep Going!' and the male performer was directed to cup her breasts to continue the production of the scene regardless of the obvious health and safety issues. This resulted in Plaintiff having to obtain a sexual transmitted disease laboratory test as a precautionary measure independent of any concern or assistance from Defendants." In any case, Greene's trial is set to commence in about two months, but earlier this week, True Crime, LLC—and possibly other plaintiffs; that complaint also was not available at press time—has countersued Greene for "breach of contract" which the complaint says included a "Nudity Rider" informing Greene that she would have to perform nude scenes in the production. According to The Hollywood Reporter story, Greene "auditioned for lead roles in two [Femme Fatales] second-season episodes, entitled 'Libra' and 'Irresistible Urges.' True Crime says that prior to the auditions, she received a link to the show's 'sizzle reel'—a preview video used to promote the show, which unmistakably revealed that Femme Fatales was an erotic, adult-targeted anthology whose principal castmembers appeared partially nude and engaged in acts of simulated sex. Further, Greene and her agent are said to have gotten casting breakdowns for roles that would 'require partial nudity,' defined as 'chest' and 'behind.' Greene allegedly expressed no reservations." But although Greene didn't get a role in either of the above-named episodes, she did audition for a role in the second-season episode "Jailbreak." "[B]y this time, 13 episodes of the series had already aired on Cinemax," the article reports, the implication being that it should have been clear to anyone doing even a minimum amount of research that Femme Fatales was chock full of partial nudity and simulated sex. Greene got that part, and "signed an employment agreement along with a personal release and nudity rider," the article states. "True Crime says that to prepare Greene for her role, it sent her a DVD copy of a prequel episode to 'Jailbreak' that had aired early in the first season." True Crime admits in its complaint that the original script for the episode contained a pussy-licking scene for Greene, but the day before shooting started, Greene told them she "was not comfortable with the oral sex aspect of the scene," so at her request, they rewrote the script and didn't "attempt to convince, persuade or coerce Greene to perform any scenes against her will or to which she expressed objection or discomfort." But on the second day, according to True Crime's complaint, Greene had more problems, when she "abruptly refused to report to the set, expressing for the first time, contrary to the express terms of the Employment Agreement and Nudity Rider, that she was not comfortable performing the scene topless or allowing herself to be filmed topless." A representative of True Crime then attempted to come to an agreement with Greene, and the actress reportedly said that she wouldn't have a problem with the scene if she could have her nipples covered, so the studio arranged for her to wear a set of pasties. "The True Crime representative knew the 'Pasties' would show on film and therefore require True Crime to hire a body double and spend substantial time editing (both at significant unbudgeted expense) just to get the frontal partially nude shots called for in the scene, and would not be compliant with HBO's policy prohibiting the use of 'Pasties' in sex scenes," the company's complaint alleges. "Nevertheless, the True Crime representative agreed to accommodate Greene's wishes in order to mitigate and minimize True Crime's losses." True Crime's complaint further alleges that Greene's refusal to appear completely nude caused "substantial delay and disruption," including forcing a fourth day of shooting to handle the body-double scenes at a "new, expensive location" and even more rewrites. So that's where the case stands now, and when (if?) it comes to trial, check back here for updates. And maybe, during the interim, we'll find out just what HBO's "no pasties policy" looks like!