Judge Advances Lawsuit Against Apple Studios Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Winston Cho
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Apple Studios might have discriminated against Brent Sexton when it pulled an offer for him to star in Manhunt after he refused the COVID-19 vaccine due to potential health complications, a judge has ruled.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Linfield declined Apple’s move to dismiss the lawsuit on free speech grounds, finding that the company’s mandatory vaccination policy may have been unconstitutional. The order issued on Oct. 19 marks one of the few rulings advancing a lawsuit from an actor who took issue with a studio’s refusal to provide accommodations for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

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“There is a significant difference between the government using its police power to require vaccinations and a company implementing a policy that required vaccinations (without any alternative, and of its own volition) as a condition of employment,” stated the order.

Sexton last year accepted a role to play Andrew Johnson in Manhunt, a miniseries following the government’s search for John Wilkes Booth after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. He was to be paid $85,000, plus incentives, per episode, with a seven-episode minimum, according to the complaint.

At the time, Apple didn’t require employees at corporate headquarters or retail stores to get the vaccine, allowing them to get daily or weekly tests. Apple Studios, however, was among the majority of studios in Hollywood that implemented vaccine mandates for a production’s main actors, as well as key crewmembers who work closely with them in the highest-risk areas of the set. Sexton’s deal on the show fell apart after he refused to get immunized, citing a prior health condition that his doctor said makes it dangerous for him to receive the vaccine. He sued after Apple refused to provide accommodations, arguing the company’s vaccine policy is unconstitutional.

In his ruling, Linfield found that dismissal of the case is not warranted under California’s anti-SLAAP statute, which is intended to protect free speech against frivolous lawsuits. He noted that Sexton’s offer to star in Manhunt was withdrawn last year when “the context of the pandemic” was “quite different” compared to 2021.

“In March 2022, it might not have been either necessary or reasonable for a company to implement (without any alternative and without a government requirement) a vaccinate-to-work policy,” the judge wrote.

A key factor in advancing the lawsuit was Sexton’s medical condition preventing him from getting the vaccine, according to the order. Linfield said that whether the mandatory vaccine policy is an illegal violation of privacy as applied to the actor is a “mixed question of law and fact.”

In a letter accompanying Sexton’s request for medical accommodations, his doctor wrote that his “medical recommendation is that it would be too dangerous for our patient to be vaccinated” since it is a “medical fact that two of the major side effects of Covid-19 vaccines are thrombocytopenia and blood clots.” He added, “The patient is already suffering from both issues, and any good doctor would agree that vaccinating him would indeed be a great risk to his life.”

Additionally, Linfield stressed evidence from Sexton demonstrating that he likely would have been able to safely work on the set of the production had he undergone daily testing for COVID-19.

“Defendant argues that Plaintiff would not have been able to adequately perform his performance duties in the historical role of President Andrew Johnson while wearing a mask,” the order stated. “The Court agrees and assumes that Plaintiff also agrees. Of course, this is a straw-man argument; no one is suggesting that Plaintiff, in the role of Andrew Johnson, should appear wearing a mask.”

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mandatory vaccine mandates led to numerous lawsuits from actors who were denied exemptions, including long-running General Hospital actor Ingo Rademacher and former 911 mainstay Rockmond Dunbar. Unlike Sexton, who cited a medical reason in refusing vaccine, Rademacher took issue with ABC’s refusal to provide him a religious exemption. In June, his lawsuit was dismissed.

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