Comic Accused of Rape Sues UCB for Reverse Gender Discrimination
LatestAaron Glaser, a comic who was banned from the Upright Citizens’ Brigade amid anonymous allegations of rape, which subsequently went viral, has—as promised—sued UCB, UCB artistic director Shannon O’Neill, and managing director Alex Sidtis in federal district court for allegedly failing to conduct a formal hearing process against Glaser, the New York Post reports. The suit claims negligence, gender discrimination, wrongful termination and a “hostile work environment.”
“UCB puts the safety and wellbeing of its community first,” a UCB representative said in a statement to Jezebel when reached for comment. “While we have not seen Mr. Glaser’s complaint yet we intend to vigorously defend any allegations against the UCB.” (UCB did not immediately respond when sent a copy of the complaint.)
Glaser told the Post that “somehow, I’ve been convicted of a very, very serious crime by what is literally a clown college.” He also told the Post that he believes a recent SNL sketch about #TimesUp is about him, claiming: “I’m a punch line.”
Glaser had previously sued comic Jasmine Pierce for $38 million after she’d referred to him as a “rapist” on social media; his suit accused Pierce, who is African-American, of attempting to “cyber lynch” him. (Pierce didn’t claim to have been assaulted by Glaser, but told Jezebel that she chose to speak on behalf of others.) As the Daily Beast and other outlets reported at the time, in August 2016, a woman wrote in a private Facebook group for women in comedy that Glaser was permanently banned from UCB for “raping women in the comedy community for years.”