There has been renewed interest regarding sexual harassment allegations behind the scenes, on the set of Criminal Minds after CBS and Walt Disney were recently named defendants in a lawsuit related to the case. The matter was first made public in 2018 after Variety published a scathing report that the show’s former Director of Photography, Gregory ‘Greg’ St. Johns, engaged in inappropriate behavior on set. The recent suit was brought forth by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) following its own investigation into the matter. The suit alleges that St. Johns subjected crew members to “to frequent sexual harassment, including touching and caressing numerous employees,” according to DFEH’s press statement.

Who Is Gregory St. Johns?

St. Johns served as the Director of Photography on the show from 2007 to 2018. According to data available from IMDb, he served in this capacity for 278 episodes. Prior to this, St. Johns also served as a camera operator on the show from 2005 to 2006.

In addition, he is also listed as a member of the camera unit in the production of several films. These include the Kurt Russell-starrer Breakdown as well as Dante’s Peak, starring former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan. St. Johns was also involved in the production of the 2003 cycling documentary The Hard Road. Meanwhile, there is no record of St. Johns working as a cinematographer on any other TV show. Today, St. Johns is not listed as a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).

A Detailed Account Into The Alleged Sexual Harassment

Overall, St. Johns worked on the production of Criminal Minds for 14 years. According to a copy of the complaint published by Deadline, he “engaged in sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation against persons working on the set of the show, including without limitation, set production crew members.”

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Similar claims were made by crew members who spoke with Variety in 2018. One of the crew members at that time said, “He slapped me on my a** cheeks numerous times. My inner thigh, that was another one of his go-to spots to smack me.” Another crew member said that St. Johns grabbed him in the rear end “two or three times over the years.”

Meanwhile, another former crew member said that St. Johns pulled his pants in front of colleagues while near the craft services table on set. He recalled, “I picked my shorts back up and I turned around and I said, ‘You f****** a******,’ and he started laughing.”

There are also accusations that St. Johns verbally abused crew members. One former crew member told Variety, “I was abused by St. Johns verbally and physically. The guy’s an a** grabber. He’s a n*t grabber. If you dare to question his authority on any particular subject he’ll verbally abuse you right there in front of people.” Donnell Turner, who worked as a stand-in on the show, also said, “He’s a tyrant. By literal definition, he is a tyrant, and I feel sorry for anyone that works under him.”

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Meanwhile, crew members who reported St. Johns felt they lost their jobs because they decided to speak up. One former crew member said he was fired “because of conflict with Greg.” Another crew member said, “I believe that I was terminated because I spoke up.”

CBS Previously Acknowledged The Allegations, Walt Disney Is Determined To Fight The Suit

When news of St. Johns alleged inappropriate behavior was revealed, Criminal Minds co-executive producer, Glenn Kershaw, told Variety, “I’m not going to start indicting behavior of the crew, but having spent my life in this business, there’s always pranksters and people doing what I guess you’d refer to as locker-room humor. But there was never anything overt in front of me.”

Meanwhile, in response to DFEH’s suit, a spokesperson from Walt Disney told The Hollywood Reporter, “The Company works hard to maintain a work environment free from discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. In this instance the Company took corrective action. We cooperated with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing during its investigation, and we regret that we were unable to reach a reasonable resolution with the Department. We now intend to defend the asserted claims vigorously.”

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According to the suit, several crew members made anonymous complaints against St. Johns from late 2017 to early 2018. However, “Walt Disney’s Employee Relations conducted various inadequate investigations designed to exonerate St. Johns.” The suit further claims, “During the investigations, a dozen crew members corroborated that St. Johns engaged in frequent and open sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Yet, Employee Relations concluded otherwise, and as such, did not meaningfully discipline or terminate St. Johns. Instead, defendants engaged in further retaliation by firing real party in interest Dauv McNeely for providing negative testimony about St. Johns during the investigation.” In contrast, Kershaw claimed that HR “looked at it thoroughly, and it was done.”

When St. Johns was dismissed, the former DP was reportedly paid “enhanced severance.” Furthermore, the suit alleges that the removal was only done after “the media made St. Johns’ conduct public and potentially threatened their brand.” Criminal Minds aired its final episodes in February.

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