Schultz, Soulpepper lawsuits settled
• Legal actions against the Soulpepper Theatre Company and its cofounder, Albert Schultz, over sexual-harassment allegations have been “resolved,” representatives said Wednesday.
A lawyer representing Schultz said that lawsuits alleging he sexually harassed multiple actresses have been settled in a way that is “satisfactory” to his client. Peter Wardle declined a request for further comment.
A Soulpepper spokesperson confirmed that the legal actions had been resolved, saying the past several months have been a “challenging” period for the Toronto non-profit theatre.
“We are committed to continuing our process of renewal,” Brad Lepp said in a statement.
“We are focused on ensuring not only that our policies are as strong as possible, but also that the structure and culture create a safe and respectful environment that supports all our artists and staff while maintaining the highest level of excellence in all that we do.”
A lawyer for the four actresses who sued Schultz and Soulpepper said her clients had no comment beyond confirming that the “matters have settled.”
In statements of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court in January, the women alleged that Schultz groped them, exposed himself, pressed against them or otherwise behaved inappropriately.
Schultz resigned hours after Kristin Booth, Hannah Miller, Diana Bentley and Patricia Fagan held a news conference to lambaste him and Soulpepper.
They said the company’s failure to deal with their repeated complaints had prompted them to go public.
At the time, Schultz said he would vigorously defend himself against the allegations. Both he and Soulpepper did file notices of intent to defend in the case.
The scandal also prompted Soulpepper to part ways with Leslie Lester, Schultz’s wife and the company’s executive director.
Soulpepper bills itself as Toronto’s largest not-forprofit theatre company and Schultz played a key role in its repertoire.
Last month, acting artistic director Alan Dilworth said Soulpepper was in the midst of a “culture change,” and announced the company would put its prestigious training academy on a one-year hold to do a review before admitting a new troupe of artists.
Nearly $2.4 million has been allocated to Soulpepper under various Canadian Heritage programs since the early 2000s, according to a February briefing note prepared for former heritage minister Mélanie Joly. This funding is separate from the roughly $185,000 a year that Soulpepper has received from the Canada Council for the Arts in the past.