Amazon MGM Studios responds to lawsuit over ‘Criminal’ harassment claims

Amazon MGM Studios and other defendants have filed a demurrer seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Ijaaz Noohu, a former production assistant for the Prime Video series ‘Criminal’. Noohu alleges he was subjected to sexual, racial, and religious harassment, as well as discrimination and defamation by showrunner Ed Brubaker and executive producer Philipp Barnett.

In their legal response, defense attorneys characterized Noohu as an ‘opportunist’ rather than a victim. They argued that Noohu failed to use any of the production’s six available reporting channels for misconduct. The defense also cited contemporary emails and messages from Noohu that did not mention harassment, but instead included requests for promotions to executive producer.

The lawyers specifically denied Noohu’s claim that Brubaker pointed a functional firearm at his face and pulled the trigger, calling the allegation ‘pure invention’. They noted that such an incident would have been reported by others on set, particularly given industry scrutiny following the ‘Rust’ incident.