Six women have come forward saying Fred Savage was fired from the Wonder Years reboot for sexually harassing female crew members.
The married father-of-three, who rose to fame after starring in the original 1988 film Wonder Years, was fired from directing the sequel on May 6, with Disney citing “allegations of inappropriate behavior” but refusing to elaborate to respond to it.
The women who made these allegations are set to release the details, accusing Savage, 46, of taking a young female crew member to his home in Atlanta and following another into a restroom and placing her hands on his groin, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
After the story of Savage’s firing first broke, Page Six reported that he had support from friends and family, including his 18-year-old wife, Jennifer Lynn Stone. The article prompted the women to come forward and disclose their allegations, which Savage has denied.
“I and the other women feel like people need to know what the wrongdoing was,” said one of the women.
Six women have brought their allegations against Fred Savage (left, pictured with wife Jennifer Lynn Stone) including taking a young female crew member to his Atlanta home, following another into a toilet and placing their hands on his groin
The 46-year-old, who rose to fame with his starring role on the original 1988 sitcom, is said to have had two faces on the set of the Wonder Years reboot. Pictured: Savage (left) with reboot star EJ Williams on set last year. Savage was fired from the show in May
Pictured: The Atlanta home where the show was filmed, where Savage allegedly lived with a young crew member who women said verbally abused him on set
On condition of anonymity for fear of losing their careers, the six women said there were two sides to Savage that constantly switched back and forth: a supportive and charismatic director and a dark and angry alter ego.
The women claimed that while Savage appeared to smile on set, he sometimes verbally assaulted “below the line employees who have no power.”
Several of the women said they felt uncomfortable about Savage’s relationship with a young woman who worked on the crew, claiming she moved into the home in Atlanta’s Cabbagetown neighborhood where the reboot was filmed and Savage was cast.
One woman told THR that the young crew member told her Savage would buy her gift and talk to her about a future together.
Despite the alleged romance, several women said they observed Savage “extremely control their day-to-day behavior,” describing him as “manipulative and unpredictable.”
They said the situation got so bad that one of them tried to shield the young crew member from Savage, after which “he proceeded to verbally harass and belittle me,” the woman told THR.
Another woman says she became friends with Savage on set and that he invited her to dinner and offered her expensive gifts, which she declined.
Though the woman claims Savage promised to help her with her career as a writer and comedian, she said she was abruptly fired from the set last year.
Then, in December 2021, she said she was invited to a group outing at a bar in Astoria, Georgia, where Savage allegedly assaulted her.
One woman said she tried to speak up for the young crew member Savage was said to be living with, but the director then belittled her. Pictured: Savage (left) with Williams and Saladin Patterson (right) on the set of the Wonder Years reboot
Savage starred as Kevin Arnold in the original hit sitcom that launched him to fame
The woman claims she was in the bathroom when Savage suddenly walked in, prompting her to try and laugh at it as she asked him to leave.
Instead, she said Savage had “dead eyes” when he allegedly pinned her against the wall and began forcefully kissing and molesting her.
“I said, ‘Please don’t do that,’ she told THR. ‘I meant ruining the friendship. I pleaded, not so much out of fear, but there was no turning back.’
“He put his mouth on mine very firmly. He’s after my pants. I wiped it away,’ she added.
“Then he put his mouth back on mine and took my hand and pulled it to his groin. I withdrew. He stopped very angry. I checked his shoulder so I could get out.’
After exiting the bathroom, she said Savage left the party with the young crew member he was allegedly living with.
The woman said Savage continued to text her to meet up after the incident and left a voicemail apologizing for what he had done.
“It’s your old friend Fred,” he reportedly said. “We worked together for a while and then we didn’t anymore and then I was a huge asshole. A huge asshole.
‘And I’m really sorry. And I kind of owe you an apology for a minute here and so, uh, the truth is I really like you and I really want to be friends and I’m so sorry I screwed that up.
Savage is married to Jennifer Lynn Stone and the couple have three children together
The latest allegations against Savage come four years after his on-screen mother, Alley Mills, claimed the original cancellation of Wonder Years “followed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Savage (then 16) and Jason Hervey (then 20),” which was settled court
In a statement regarding the allegations, Savage denied many of the allegations against him, telling THR, “I’ve worked with thousands of people on hundreds of sets since I was 6 years old and have always strived to contribute to an inclusive, safe company and supportive work environment.
“It is devastating to learn that there are colleagues who think that I have failed in these goals. While some incidents are reported that absolutely did not and could not have happened, any person who feels hurt or offended by my actions is one person too many.
“I will work to address and change any behavior that has negatively affected someone as nothing in this world is more important to me than being a supportive co-worker, friend, husband, father and human being.”
This isn’t the first time Savage has been embroiled in controversy. In 2018, he was sued by client Youngjoo Hwang, who claimed he assaulted and molested her on the set of TV show The Grinder.
Hwang (seen with her attorney in 2018) also said that “Savage was known to intimidate, bully, and torment female crew members.” Hwang said that he had a “fickle and aggressive temper towards the female crew” and had “violently beaten” them on three occasions
The incidents reportedly happened on the set of TV show The Grinder (above). Savage, who later settled the lawsuit, called the allegations “completely baseless and absolutely untrue.”
Hwang said in legal documents that Savage had a “fickle and aggressive temper towards the female crew” and had “violently beaten” her on three occasions.
According to Page Six, Hwang said that “Savage was known to intimidate, bully, and torment female crew members while they went about their work duties by shouting things like, ‘I’m not a dog, stop following me.’ ‘Don’t the fuck look at me anymore’ and ‘Get that shit off me.”
Savage, who later settled the lawsuit, had called the allegations “completely baseless and absolutely false” and was cleared by an investigation by 20th Century Television at the time.
Four years ago, his former on-screen mom, Alley Mills, claimed the original cancellation of Wonder Years followed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Savage and Jason Hervey that she says was settled out of court.
Monique Long, the woman who accused the then 16-year-old of sexual harassment, worked as a costume designer on the set.
According to Deadline, she accused both Savage and Hervey of “verbally and physically harassing her.”