Keith Redmon, the Oscar-nominated producer who was fired from Anonymous Content in 2021, is suing his former employer for breach of contract, claiming that he is owed “millions” in unpaid compensation and from a stake in “Schitt’s Creek.”
In a legal filing on Tuesday, Redmon also denies that he engaged in sexual misconduct, something that Anonymous publicly cited was the reason for his ouster. He claims that any relationships with Anonymous employees were consensual and took place more than a decade before he was fired from the company. He also says he was not in a leadership position at the time of those relationships.
Redmon, who is now a partner at Black Bear Pictures, says that his dismissal resulted from clashes with Anonymous’s new management following the 2019 death of its founder Steve Golin and the acquisition of a majority stake in the company by Emerson Collective, a limited liability company founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs. He claims that Dawn Olmstead, who was hired as CEO of Anonymous in 2020, restructured the company to reward new executives at the expense of Golin-era producers and managers. He claims that he stuck up for these employees and says that 70 executives were discharged or replaced after Emerson assumed control.
“When a company founder and beloved leader passes away, all too often new management adds insult to tragedy by siphoning off the company’s profits for their own benefit, commandeering projects developed and nurtured by others, and usurping credit for the achievements of those who came before,” the filing reads. “Typically, such opportunistic scavenging leads to a decline in both the quality of the company’s work and the way it treats its people. Anonymous is a textbook example of this phenomenon.”
In a statement, Anonymous Content pushed back at Redmon’s claims.
“This complaint is riddled with falsities and mistruths,” a spokesperson for the company said. “We stand by the decision to dismiss Mr. Redmon for cause. We will vigorously defend the false allegations made in this complaint.”
When Anonymous initially fired Redmon, the company offered no public comment about the reasons for his termination beyond a terse internal memo saying that his ouster was “effective immediately.” However, in a November story on Puck, Anonymous stated that Redmon “…was terminated in June for cause due to a troubling pattern of unacceptable behavior. The company recently completed a comprehensive investigation and uncovered multiple incidents of sexual misconduct by Redmon, some physical in nature.”
Redmon hits back at those allegations in his filing, claiming they were part of a “smear campaign,” and says that no sexual misconduct claims were included in his personnel file. He says that Anonymous claimed that it would public with the allegations unless he renounced his equity stake and accepted a fraction of the compensation he was owed.
“Redmon does not deny that he had consensual dalliances a decade ago,” the complaint reads. “He deeply regrets his infidelity and has to live with the pain he has caused his wife and family, but his actions 10 years ago did not constitute harassment or any other form of sexual misconduct.”
Redmon goes on to say that Anonymous shifted its justification for firing the manager and producer. In June of 2021, Redmon was suspended because of his alleged behavior during a Zoom call that month in which he expressed frustration about how managers and producers at the company were being treated. Redmon says after he produced a recording of that call, his behavior in that meeting was no longer mentioned as the reason for his suspension. When he was terminated a few days later, it was for alleged instances of “screaming,” which Redmon says other executives also have done without losing jobs.
“During his entire career at Anonymous, Redmon had an intense management style,” the filing reads. “He cares about the work, he cares about quality, and he cares about results. In the longstanding tradition of openness and candor at Anonymous under Golin, Redmon did not shy away from heated workplace discussions. Like others at Anonymous in the past, and still today, he could at times speak with a raised voice. His style was not unusual.”
At Anonymous, Redmon produced such films as “The Revenant,” “The Midnight Sky” and “Triple 9.” He says he is owed 25% of Anonymous’s stake in “Schitt’s Creek,” the Emmy-winning show he helped set up, as well as episodic fees in the amount of $2,500 per episode. He goes on to say he is owed the rest of his compensation and incentives that are in “…the millions of dollars.”