Former Child Actress Raquel Lee Alleges Disney Negligent in On-Set Sexual Abuse
Former child actress Raquel Lee has filed a lawsuit alleging she was repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted by a Disney employee while filming the 2001 Disney Channel film The Poof Point, and that the studio was negligent in failing to protect her. Lee, who was 14 at the time, says the unnamed "middle-aged, male employee" groomed her before assaulting her in his hotel room during filming in Salt Lake City and later on a flight home, and that his sexually explicit remarks and behaviour on set were witnessed and heard by cast, crew and sound technicians without anyone intervening.
The filing claims Lee was often left separated from her on-set guardian, and that when her performance and behaviour changed afterwards, Disney executives blamed her rather than investigating, allegedly accusing her of being "out of control" and having "a demon inside her," before the studio cancelled a planned future role for her. She is represented by lawyer Doug Wigdor, known for previous high-profile cases including Cassie Ventura's suit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, and the complaint argues this fits a wider pattern of Disney failing to prevent predatory behaviour. Both Wigdor and Disney declined to comment; Lee later continued working with Disney on The Proud Family and its revival.
- Raquel Lee sues Disney over alleged on-set abuse during 2001 filming
- Claims studio staff witnessed misconduct but failed to intervene
- Disney allegedly blamed her, cancelled a future role afterwards
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Raquel Lee, a former child actress, is suing the Walt Disney Company over abuse she says she suffered as a 14-year-old while filming the 2001 Disney Channel movie The Poof Point. Her lawsuit names an unidentified Disney employee as her alleged abuser and accuses the company itself of negligence, arguing staff on set could have intervened but did not.
The case sits alongside a wider set of lawsuits and public claims in recent years accusing major entertainment companies of failing to protect child performers from predatory adults on set. Lee's lawyer, Doug Wigdor, has represented plaintiffs in other high-profile abuse cases, which has drawn added attention to this filing. Disney has not commented publicly on the specific allegations.
The dispute matters because it raises broader questions about how much responsibility studios bear for the welfare of child actors, including the adequacy of supervision and safeguarding practices on productions aimed at young audiences.