He starred in two beloved classics as a child actor, but over the past few years, Fred Savage has been making some troubling headlines. As reported on Saturday, May 7, Savage was let go from his job at The Wonder Years reboot following an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior. Production company 20th Television has not released any further details about the alleged misconduct, and Savage has not commented on the news. Best Life reached out to a representative for the actor but has not received a response.
This is not the first time that claims of inappropriate behavior have been made against Savage, however. Read on to find out more about the 45-year-old star's history with on-set allegations, including a claim that he has a "volatile and aggressive temper."
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Savage became famous as a kid.
ABCNo matter what else he does, Savage will always be best known for starring as Kevin Arnold in the original The Wonder Years series, about a teen growing up in the 1960s and '70s, from 1988 to 1993. He also made an impact with The Princess Bride, as the young boy who is being told the story the movie depicts.
The former child star went on to transition to adult roles, making many guest appearances on TV series and, in recent years, starring on the sitcoms The Grinder and Friends From College. He's also worked as TV director since the late '90s.
Savage was fired from The Wonder Years.
Kathy Hutchins / ShutterstockOn May 7, 20th Television released a statement explaining that Savage would no longer be working on The Wonder Years reboot, which premiered in 2021 and focuses on a Black child coming of age in Alabama. Savage was an executive producer and director on the series.
“Recently, we were made aware of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Fred Savage, and as is policy, an investigation was launched," 20th Television told Deadline in a statement. "Upon its completion, the decision was made to terminate his employment as an executive producer and director of The Wonder Years."
No details were offered, but Deadline reported that the allegations are said to include "verbal outbursts and inappropriate behavior."
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He was accused of misconduct on a different show four years ago.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesIn 2018, Youngjoo Hwang, a costumer designer for his sitcom The Grinder, filed a lawsuit against Savage alleging harassment, assault, and gender discrimination. As reported by Page Six,Hwang claimed that Savage "violently struck" her in the arm three times and yelled at her not to touch him when she was trying to do her job. The lawsuit claimed he had a "volatile and aggressive temper as it related to the female crew.”
According to Page Six, the lawsuit read, "Defendant Savage was known to intimidate, bully and torment female crew members while they were doing their job duties by yelling things like ‘I’m not a dog, quit [expletive] following me!’ ‘Don’t ever even [expletive] look at me anymore’, and ‘Get the [expletive] away from me.'"
Fox, the network on which The Grinder aired, conducted an investigation at the time and found no wrongdoing. Savage denied the claims at the time. The lawsuit ended up being settled outside of court.
Hwang's lawyer, Anahita Sedaghatfar, commented on the new allegations against Savage, telling Page Six, "This was a long time coming and I am not the least bit surprised ... It is unfortunate that it took my client speaking out and now reportedly these others before action was finally taken."
He also faced a lawsuit on the original Wonder Years.
Kathy Hutchins / ShutterstockIn 1993, toward the end of the original Wonder Years' run, Savage and his co-star Jason Hervey, who were 16 and 20 at the time, were accused of sexual harassment by Monique Long, a then-32-year-old wardrobe assistant. Savage was accused of bothering Long with requests for dates, saying he was in love with her and wanted to have an affair, and trying to hold her hand, as reported by People. Savage and Hervey both denied the allegations against them, as did fellow co-workers and a state welfare worker who was required to be on set due to labor laws. This lawsuit was also settled out of court.
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