This Is Why Bill Nye Is Taking Disney To Court

Bill Nye is taking Disney to court. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the trial date was decided on Wednesday and set for May 2020 and most likely lasting 10 days. However, he only is permitted to limited claims against the company.

The court granted Nye permission to sue for punitive damages. He reportedly measured $28 million in his fourth amended complaint about how much Disney allegedly owes him in profits from his classic show, “Bill Nye The Science Guy.” He also wants extra consequences from The Walt Disney Company for how they had “a long and consistent pattern of under-reporting revenue and improperly applying deductions.”

This trial has been a long time coming for Nye. He filed for one back in 2017 and Disney claimed that he waited too long. THR reports that Nye came back to Disney and argued that their reports lacked detail, so he could not determine if their quarterly profit statements were accurate or complete.

“Nye also contended that Disney induced him to spend time, money and other resources on an audit, under the false promise he'd be provided with access to the necessary records,” the outlet reported.

“Bill Nye The Science Guy” premiered in 1993 and ended in 1998. It aired on PBS and was created by Disney and the National Science Foundation. Nye’s show was a stellar success, receiving 23 Emmy nominations and winning 19 of them.

The classic children's show even inspired an adult version called “Bill Nye Saves The World” that ran for three seasons on Netflix. Before the premiere of the first season, Nye spoke to Cinema Blend and discussed the reason behind creating an adult version.

“We did a hundred shows of the 'Science Guy' show and we covered a lot of elementary science that everyone should know,” he said. “So this show is to address people who grew up watching the old show and I hope are more curious about the world around them and nature and our place in the cosmos.”