The longtime composer of "The Simpsons" has sued over his dismissal from the long-running series, saying he was discriminated against because of his age and a perceived disability.
The lawsuit filed by Alf Clausen in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday for age discrimination, wrongful termination and retaliation comes nearly two years after Clausen says he was fired from composing and conducting all music for "The Simpsons."
The 78-year-old Clausen's lawsuit says he was told that he was being replaced because the series was "taking the music in a different direction." No other details were included.
The Fox prime-time animated series debuted in 1989. Its 31st season is scheduled to premiere in September.
A message seeking comment from a representative for the show was not immediately returned.
The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors' lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.
The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place.
The high court dismissed the company's appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward.
Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump 's first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016.
Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company's shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company was disappointed by the court's action. "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement.
Meta already has paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users.
Cambridge Analytica had ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon. It had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign.
The lawsuit is one of two high court cases involving class-action lawsuits against tech companies. The justices also are wrestling with whether to shut down a class action against Nvidia.... Read More
