A stuntman who says he was run over by a car on the set of “Hawaii Five-0” has filed a lawsuit against CBS and others, claiming that the injury was the result of “unsafe decision-making.”
In the suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, Justin Sundquist says he was working as the stunt double for “Hawaii Five-0” character Steve McGarrett in July 2016 when he was “struck and seriously injured” by a speeding car.
Sundquist alleges that “serious violations of minimum industry standard safety protocols occurred” on the set that day.
According to the suit, the “Hawaii Five-0” set has historically been “a rushed, hectic set where the production schedule is so demanding and the push to control the labor budget is so harsh that corners are cut and safety is compromised.”
On the morning of the alleged incident, the suit says, the production was even more rushed, because there was only one elevator to transport dozens of cast and crew to the eighth floor of the parking structure.
“The end result was a frantic, chaotic and hectic atmosphere which contributed to the unsafe decision-making that contributed to the incident,” the lawsuit reads.
Sundquist alleges that the car wasn’t being driven by a trained stunt professional — but rather by an actor — and he further claims that, on that day, a key personnel who had safety responsibilities “was under the influence of narcotic controlled substances” and took “dozens of prescription pain medications” that weren’t prescribed lawfully.
The suit describes Sundquist as “an award-winning stunt performer” whose credits include “Captain America: Winter Soldier,” “Kong: Skull Island” and “The Fate of the Furious.”
Alleging negligence and negligent hiring,supervision and/or retention, among other counts, the suit seeks unspecified damages.
CBS did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
23 White Actors Miscast in Nonwhite Roles, From Mickey Rooney to Emma Stone (Photos)
Hollywood just doesn't seem to learn from its mistakes as it continues to cast white actors in nonwhite roles again and again. And again.
Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Roger Ebert, Beatrice Aguirre Zuniga
More caricature than character, Rooney starred as the buck-toothed, Japanese Mr. Yunioshi in the 1961 film, which has faced volumes of criticism since.
The "Jailhouse Rock" singer played a Native American rodeo rider in the 1968 comedy Western. Along with this miscasting, many also criticized the film's use of stereotypes and offensive humor.
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Peter Sellers in "The Party" (1968)
The English actor wore brown face for his role as Hrundi V. Bakshi, an Indian actor, in the comedy film. "The Party" was also called out for its racist humor and perpetuating South Asian stereotypes.
Schneider seems to play a different ethnicity in every Adam Sandler movie. In "The Waterboy" he was the "You can do it!" guy, in "Big Daddy," he was a Middle-Eastern deliveryman, and in "50 First Dates," he plays a native Hawaiian. Badly.
In the 2007 drama film, Jolie plays Mariane Pearl, a real-life journalist of Afro-Chinese-Cuban descent, though the actress herself is of mixed-European descent.
The movie follows a group of math students who come up with a card-counting strategy to win big in Vegas. While the movie had a predominantly white cast, the real-life MIT students were Asian American.
Sony
Jake Gyllenhaal in "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010) Gyllenhaal plays a Middle Eastern prince in the film, which many called "insulting" and "the perfect example of whitewashing."
Johnny Depp played a Native American in Disney's film, which sparked outrage among fans and critics despite the actor's claims that his great-grandmother had mostly Cherokee blood.
Scarlett Johansson, who consistently takes on roles for nonwhite actors, plays the Japanese lead in this lackluster film. Nevertheless, this miscasting sparked a larger conversation on Hollywood's whitewashing of Asian roles.
Paramount Pictures
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Rooney as Japanese? Stone as Chinese/Swedish/Hawaiian? TheWrap looks at history of racially misguided castings
Hollywood just doesn't seem to learn from its mistakes as it continues to cast white actors in nonwhite roles again and again. And again.