A electrician’s lesbian love affair at Universal City Studios sent shockwaves through NBCUniversal, which demoted her, a lawsuit charges.
Stacy Freyre, 49, was a supervisor earning $127,000 a year when her friendship with a married female cashier at a Universal City Studios restaurant in California became a romance in 2017, Freyre said in court papers.
The cashier, a mom of two, had already separated from her spouse, whom she had accused of domestic violence, according to Freyre’s legal filing.
But when the estranged husband, who also worked at the site, discovered the relationship, he flew into a rage, complained to the company, accosted his ex at work and allegedly threatened to harm Freyre, implying someone could shoot her kids, she charges. Freyre reported the threats to police.
Rather than deal with the threats, Universal City Studios, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, asked Freyre to apologize and make peace with the husband. Freyre was demoted from her supervisor post after she refused to end the relationship, according to an employment discrimination claim she recently filed NBCUniversal in California Federal Court seeking unspecified damages.
It’s unclear if any action was taken against the cashier or the husband.
A lawyer for NBCUniversal did not return a message. In court papers, the company said Freyre worked for its subsidiary, Universal City Studios.