A former production assistant has filed a lawsuit accusing comic-book writer and television showrunner Ed Brubaker and the companies behind Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming crime series Criminal of fostering a hostile workplace marked by sexual and racial harassment, religious discrimination, and assault.
Ijaaz Noohu, a Sri Lankan American filmmaker, filed the complaint Wednesday in California state court against Brubaker, Amazon MGM Studios, and Big Indie Pictures, the production company that hired him. He is seeking unspecified damages. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Noohu was hired by Big Indie in February 2023 as a production assistant on Criminal, which is based on Brubaker’s interconnected crime stories and marks the writer’s first project as television showrunner. Amazon MGM ordered the series in 2024. Noohu’s employment ended in September 2024. He was not credited on the production. According to the suit, his exit date was advanced and he was barred from the set after he challenged the alleged misconduct and sought a promotion, which he describes as retaliation.
Among the most serious claims is that Brubaker pointed a functioning firearm at Noohu’s face and pulled the trigger. The complaint states the incident was witnessed by a senior producer who took no action. “That a supervisor with authority over the entire production would commit such an act and that it would go unchecked illustrates the culture of impunity that pervaded the Criminal production,” Noohu’s lawyer, Fahim Rahman, wrote in the filing.
The lawsuit further alleges that Brubaker subjected Noohu to repeated sexual harassment, including remarks about running his hands through Noohu’s hair, jokes about rape, and rubbing Noohu’s back. It also claims Brubaker made demeaning comments tied to Noohu’s background, referencing curry, the “Tiger Mom” stereotype, the series Never Have I Ever, and assumptions about mathematical ability. Noohu says he was repeatedly asked whether he supported Hamas.
The complaint accuses Amazon MGM and Big Indie of failing to investigate the alleged harassment and discrimination, which it says occurred openly and was witnessed by multiple people, including senior producers. It specifically names executive producer Phillip Barnett, alleging he told others not to document complaints and responded to reports by saying, “Don’t say that in front of me,” and “La la, I’m not hearing that.”
Amazon MGM declined to comment. Big Indie Pictures and Brubaker did not respond to requests for comment.
Brubaker’s prior television credits include Westworld, Too Old to Die Young, and Batman: Caped Crusader. He is a prominent comic-book writer known for work on Batman, Catwoman, and Captain America, and he co-created the Winter Soldier character for Marvel.
The case remains in its early stages.
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