Sheridan's lawyer, Mark Baute, insists his client 'was not acting' when she's crying in the February 29 trial for her battery and wrongful termination lawsuit against ABC and Marc Cherry.
- Mar 1, 2012
AceShowbiz - Nicollette Sheridan burst into tears in a court as her trial for battery and wrongful termination case against ABC and "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry continued on Wednesday, February 29. The 48-year-old actress began crying while her lawyer Mark Baute delivered his opening statement.
Met after the trial, the attorney insisted that Sheridan wasn't faking it when she shed tears. "She was not acting," he said in defense of his client, adding that "she clearly was shaken up."
In his opening, Baute said Sheridan was humiliated when she was "hit on the head hard" by Cherry, and accused the show's creator of "making up the explanation for smacking someone on the head" by claiming it was for a scene on the series.
Baute went on claiming that his client lost "the most lucrative job of her career", saying Sheridan's character Edie Britt was killed off in a "poorly written episode." He concluded, "Bottom line, this was retaliatory termination by someone who knew what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it."
On behalf of ABC and Cherry, attorney Adam Levin explained that Sheridan's termination was part of the writers' efforts "to shock and surprise the audience." Noting that Cherry initially considered getting rid of Edie during season 3 but kept the character alive until writing her out in season 5, he admitted, "Ms. Sheridan is obviously unhappy. But she was not wrongfully terminated, nor was she battered."
Sheridan, who is seeking $6 million in compensation for being killed off, is set to be the trial's first witness on Thursday, March 1. A number of the series' former writers are also set to testify for her. Meanwhile, "Housewives" stars Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman and James Denton included in Levin's witness list.
