The Days of Our Lives cast is reeling after an internal investigation against director/co-executive producer Albert Alarr, who has been accused of misconduct amidst staff cuts and layoffs.
The nine-week investigation looked into allegations of gender disparity of recent staff reductions among cast members, in which seven women were either let go or demoted into recurring roles, according to a report from Deadline. Two women left on their own, speculated to be partly due to their experience on the show.
Meanwhile, only one male actor was laid off. There have also been complaints of only a single female director for the five weekly episodes. Three full-time directors, including Alarr, also helm the duty, with a female director part of a rotation for the fifth weekly slot with multiple part-time helmers alternating. General Hospital has four full-time female directors, a fifth in training, and three male directors.
However, some of the harshest complaints involve Alarr’s alleged behavior on set. Problems are said to have escalated after he became a co-executive producer in 2015. Insiders claim that he’s been abusive, leaving people uncomfortable and humiliated.
About a year ago, an alleged incident involving an actress was investigated while filming an intimate scene. The prop department forgot to provide her with an extra sheet, leaving her feeling exposed on camera. Irritating by the delay, Alarr allegedly asked her to hurry up and make the scene more intense, using uncomfortable acting directions.
The actress, in her early 40s, is said to have felt humiliated and told Alarr off, remarking, “F*ck you.” She reportedly continued filming under distress, requiring multiple makeup touchups. Alarr is later said to have apologized after a conversation with the stage manager, but the actress was eventually informed she would be written off the show. Though offered to stay as a recurring character, she was no longer under contract.
A longtime cast member said, “It’s kind of a running joke that everything that comes out of Albert’s mouth is inappropriate.”
Another incident from 5-6 years ago was examined during the investigation. Allegedly, Alarr forcefully grabbed and kissed an actress without her consent at an event after the show won an award, leaving her horrified, according to an eyewitness.
Following two months of investigation, which saw Alarr receive a written warning and undergo training, he has remained in his co-EP and director roles, sparking outrage among cast and crew aware of the allegations and the investigation.
In June, amid tensions on the set, producers decided to pause tapings and extended the planned two-week break around July 4 with an additional week of hiatus starting on June 17.
Sources close to the production emphasize that the extra week off was primarily due to a general show-scheduling decision, partly because of insufficient scripts caused by the writers’ strike.
Over the past couple of months, Alarr’s presence on the set has been reduced, according to sources. However, the exact reason for this scaling back remains unclear and could be attributed to the ongoing investigation, the impact of the writers’ strike diverting his attention to script generation, or some other factor.
Days of our Lives, Streaming, Peacock
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
