Lawsuit: 21st Century Fox Ordered To Pay $179 Million For Fraud Against ‘Bones’ TV Series
In an arbitration ruling, 21st Century Fox (FOX) has been ordered to pay over $178 million settlement for fraud allegations against the creators and actors of the TV series ‘Bones.’
The payout is one of the largest in entertainment history, where Fox was accused of eliminating profit sharing on streaming platforms where the show aired, CNBC reported. The media company owns both the content production and distribution of the ‘Bones’ series.
The arbitration order included $128 million in punitive damages and has already caused Fox to appeal the decision. The media company said in a statement "the ruling by this private arbitrator is categorically wrong on the merits and exceeded his arbitration powers. Fox will not allow this flagrant injustice, riddled with errors and gratuitous character attacks, to stand."
In the suit, Fox executives were accused of “self-dealing,” where they underreported the value of the TV program on Hulu as well as other streaming services. At the time of the accusations, Fox owned 33 percent of Hulu.
Emily Deschanel, the lead actresses in the TV series, said in a statement about the about the ruling , "We are so proud of the hard work we did on Bones for 12 seasons and only ever wanted Fox to live up to its promises and contractual obligations."
David Boreanaz, also an actor on the series, commented on the win saying, "It's clear that what we were saying all along was true: we were owed additional compensation for our work. Now I can only hope that Fox is made to settle its obligations to us without further delay.”
Shares of Fox stock were down 0.46 percent as of 3:56 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
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