Disney has been slapped with a lawsuit claiming they failed to pay Kiara Muhammad, the actress who voices Dottie “Doc” McStuffins, her coins for merchandise revenue owed to her.
To add insult to injury, the suit claims Kiara is forced to sign single-day contracts so the show has the option to replace her at will.
Via The Hollywood Reporter:
Anitra Muhammad is suing Disney Character Voices and Studiopolis on behalf of the teen actress who voices Dottie “Doc” McStuffins, Kiara Muhammad.
Muhammad has played the character since 2010 through single-day recording sessions, according to the complaint. At the beginning of each day, a new agreement is signed and at the end of each day the employment is terminated.
According to the suit, the Muhammads on multiple occasions proposed that the parties enter into an employment agreement that would cover multiple days of work, instead of the daily contracts. Muhammad claims defendants denied the requests because it gave them the freedom to replace the young actress with a different voice actor at any time.
The suit also claims defendants have routinely failed to pay Muhammad’s wages in a timely manner — and haven’t paid her share of merchandising revenue.
For the first season, Muhammad was paid a flat fee of $5,000. Beginning with the second season, in exchange for exclusive merchandising rights relating to the role and the right to use Muhammad’s name, voice and likeness in perpetuity, the actress was to be paid 2.5 percent of the net merchandising receipts.
Muhammad is suing for breach of contract, and requesting an accounting to determine how much the young actress is owed under the contract.
Disney has not commented on the lawsuit.
