The longtime editor of the entertainment trade publication Variety was sued Friday by a former editor who alleges he was fired after complaining about being harassed because he is gay.
Ramin Zahed sued Variety, parent company Reed Elsevier and editor Peter Bart in Los Angeles County Superior Court for wrongful discharge. Also named was another Variety editor, Thomas Tapp.
According to the lawsuit, Zahed was Variety's special reports editor until he was fired Sept. 6. Zahed said he was told at the time that his performance was not an issue, the lawsuit says, but that his department was being restructured.
Zahed alleges that the firing came after he complained to the paper's human resources department about having to endure slurs about his sexual orientation. The lawsuit alleges Bart set the workplace tone by frequently making slurs against gays and women.
