Desperate Housewives Trial: Nicollette Sheridan Feared "Retribution" From Marc Cherry

Actress' longtime attorney testifies that she didn't complain to ABC directly because her boss was a "vindictive" man

By Natalie Finn, Baker Machado Mar 06, 2012 9:30 PMTags
Nicollette Sheridan Toby Canham/Getty Images

One of Marc Cherry's big points has been that Nicollette Sheridan didn't call police or report the Desperate Housewives creator to ABC's human resources department when he allegedly hit her during a confrontation in September 2008.

Today in court, Sheridan's longtime personal attorney testified that the actress didn't initially complain to ABC because "Nicollette was concerned about retribution from Mr. Cherry."

"She told me Mr. Cherry was a very vindictive man," attorney Neil Meyer, who headed up negotiations for Sheridan's last Desperate Housewives contract, said on the stand, prompting a quick objection from Cherry's attorney, Adam Levin.

Meyer said that Sheridan loved playing Edie Britt on the hit series, noting that Edie was featured prominently in commercials, on the Desperate Housewives DVD covers, etc.

"Her character exploded," Meyer said.

According to Meyer, shortly after her alleged run-in with Cherry's hand on Sept. 28, 2008, a "very upset" Sheridan called him. Meyer said that he promised her to look into it, and he called Howard Davine, executive VP of Studio Business Affairs for ABC Entertainment Group, to report Sheridan's concerns. Davine promised to look into it, Meyer said.

"It must have been pretty bad, because [Sheridan] wouldn't just call me," he added.

But, Meyer said, his client was willing to press on despite her discomfort on the set.

"She was prepared to put her head down and go back to work because she was concerned that if she brought this up her job would be in jeopardy," Meyer told the court. But, he said, he impressed upon Davine that Sheridan was "very concerned that the exact same thing that happened to her could happen to other people."

Months later, Meyer testified, Davine sent him a letter noting that Cherry had been cleared by ABC of any wrongdoing.

"It was a self-serving letter, and I don't respond to self-serving letters," Meyer said. His direct testimony concluded with him saying that he hasn't been able to set Sheridan up with a new agent or any work since her firing from Desperate Housewives.

Cherry's side has argued that the producer merely tapped Sheridan on the head during their discussion and that he planned to kill off Edie Britt months beforehand, so her ultimate demise later in the season was in no way retribution for her complaints.