Amazon Moves to Toss ‘Criminal’ Production Assistant’s Harassment Suit

Amazon MGM has filed a motion to throw out a suit brought by a production assistant on the upcoming series “Criminal,” saying that his claim that the showrunner pointed a gun at him is “pure invention.”

The plaintiff, Ijaaz Noohu, filed the suit two weeks ago, alleging he was subject to racial and sexual harassment. Among other things, Noohu accused showrunner Ed Brubaker of rubbing his back and of making comments about running his hands through Noohu’s hair.

The complaint also alleged that Noohu was asked whether he supports Hamas, and was subjected to racial stereotypes about curry, mathematical ability and “Tiger Moms.” The most sensational allegation, offered with scant detail, was that Brubaker once pointed a functional firearm at him and pulled the trigger.

In its demurrer filed on Thursday, Amazon MGM says it has no record of any report of the firearm incident, and accuses Noohu of making it up.

The demurrer describes Noohu as “an opportunist, not a victim,” and quotes from an email Noohu sent in 2024, pitching himself for a promotion to be the show’s executive producer, saying it would “make the show better.”

Amazon’s lawyers also state that Noohu never raised a complaint of harassment or discrimination during his work on the show.

“His contemporaneous emails and texts — including the one begging to keep working closely with Brubaker, his supposed harasser — breathe not a word of harassment, discrimination, or distress,” the demurrer states. “Nor did Noohu ever hold himself out as religious or as sensitive to sexual content on a production he knew was based on mature, adult subject matter as a matter of course.”

The demurrer also states that it is implausible that anyone would have pointed a gun at Noohu and pulled the trigger without it being reported.

“Had that happened, every person in the room, Noohu included, had a duty to report it, and in a post-‘Rust’ industry on high alert to firearms, someone would have. No one did. Defendants first learned of the supposed incident when Noohu reemerged peddling the story and demanding a payday.”

Amazon also alleges that Noohu sat on his allegations for nearly two years, until the beginning of the press tour for “Criminal,” in order to achieve maximum leverage.