Bill Nye Allowed to take Disney to Trial over Profits from ‘Science Guy’ Show
Bill Nye is taking the Walt Disney Company to trial over claims that the organization drastically short-changed him on profits from his successful 1990s TV show.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, an L.A. Superior Court judge allowed Nye to take limited claims against Disney to trial after a fourth amended complaint. That trial is reportedly scheduled for May 2020.
In Nye’s most recent complaint, he estimates that he’s owed $28 million in damages from the way the company handled the show’s profits. He’s also seeking punitive damages arising from how the company has, “a long and consistent pattern of under-reporting revenue and improperly applying deductions.”
The series ran 100 episodes on PBS from 1994 to 1999 and was syndicated to local stations, eventually earning it 23 Emmy nominations with 19 wins. Deadline reports that the host initially became suspicious when Disney paid him for his share of the profits in April 2008 before sending a second letter alleging it overestimated his share and asked for a majority of the money back.
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