Faye Dunaway sued over allegedly calling assistant 'little homosexual boy'

Oscar-winning actress Faye Dunaway has been sued for discrimination after an assistant alleges she referred to him as “a little homosexual boy”.

Michael Rocha worked for the Florida-born actress, 78, from April 5 until June 12. At the time Dunaway was starring in a Broadway play as Katherine Hepburn in the play Tea at Five.

Mr Rocha alleges that she relentlessly berated him and mocked him for his sexuality.

In court documents he claimed that she “regularly and relentlessly subjected plaintiff to abusive demeaning tirades” and used his sexual orientation as a gay man to “demean and humiliate him at work.”

Mr Rocha, who was paid $1,500 a week (£1,200) for his services, claimed that he reported her actions to the general manager and general counsel for the one-woman play.

He claims he also gave them the tape of the offensive comment.

He was fired a fortnight later, and told, he claims, that Dunaway “is not comfortable with you anymore,” the court documents allege.

Dunaway’s lawyer has not responded to The Telegraph’s request for comment.

Deadline Hollywood said that Dunaway’s “reputation for being difficult and temperamental” was “long established”.

The Bonnie and Clyde star’s own time at the theatre was later cut short, and she was fired from the play on July 24, after pre-Broadway previews in Boston.

The play had been due to open on Broadway later in 2019.

The play will be in London next spring, with a different case.

Producers Ben Feldman and Scott Beck said of their decision: “The producers of ‘Tea at Five’ announced today that they have terminated their relationship with Faye Dunaway. Plans are in development for the play to have its West End debut early next year with a new actress to play the role of Katharine Hepburn.”

The New York Post reported that the crew was terrified of Dunaway because she allegedly slapped them and threw things at members who were trying to fit her with a wig.

The evening’s performance was cancelled following the outburst — prompting Dunaway to allegedly launch a tirade of abuse at the crew.

The crew were “fearful for their safety,” the paper reported.

The Post described Dunaway as often late for rehearsals, and at one point throwing a salad on the floor.

She was fired after the incident.

The New York staging would have been Dunaway’s return to Broadway after an absence of more than 35 years. The play was to have been directed by the Tony-nominated John Tillinger.