Key Takeaways
- Former Disney star Raquel Lee is suing the company for negligence, alleging that an unnamed crew member groomed and repeatedly sexually assaulted her at age 14 during production of the 2001 movie The Poof Point.
- Lee claims the employee harassed her in front of cast and crew while Disney separated her from her on-set guardian, ignored warning signs, and later blamed her behavioral changes on being “out of control.”
- Lee, who later voiced Nubia Gross on The Proud Family and appeared in Quiet on Set, is represented by Doug Wigdor and Jane Kim; Disney declined to comment.
Former Disney child star Raquel Lee is suing the entertainment giant over allegations that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a crew member while filming the 2001 Disney Channel Original Movie, The Poof Point. Lee, who was 14 during production, accuses Disney of negligence and failing to protect her from an unnamed male employee who allegedly groomed and abused her while the cast and crew worked in Salt Lake City.
According to the complaint, which was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the “middle-aged, male employee” first assaulted Lee multiple times inside his room at the hotel where the production team was staying. She alleges that he later assaulted her again during a flight to Los Angeles.
The filing also claims the employee routinely whispered sexually explicit remarks into Lee’s ear, made comments about her body, and used physical contact—including hugs—to get close to her. Lee further alleges that she was separated from her on-set guardian for most of each working day, leaving her vulnerable to the employee’s behavior.
Lee played Marie Ballard opposite Tahj Mowry in The Poof Point, which followed two children whose scientist parents accidentally reverse their own aging. The movie arrived during a major expansion of Disney Channel’s original programming, when the network was building a generation of young stars through family-oriented films and television shows.
Lee later became a familiar voice to Disney audiences as Nubia Gross on The Proud Family, appearing in 24 episodes of the original animated series before reprising the character in the Disney+ revival The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.
The lawsuit alleges that warning signs were visible throughout the production. Lee claims the employee made sexually explicit jokes around minors and harassed her “in plain view of the cast and crew.”
Some comments could allegedly be heard by technicians monitoring the actors’ microphones, yet the complaint states that “no one at Disney intervened.” Lee’s attorneys also claim that executives responded to her subsequent behavioral changes by calling her “out of control,” saying she “need[ed] Jesus” and had “a demon inside her.”
According to the filing, Disney also accused the 14-year-old of engaging in sexual activity with a crew member and canceled her role in another planned production.
Lee is represented by attorneys Doug Wigdor and Jane Kim. Wigdor has handled several high-profile sexual-misconduct cases, including representing Cassie Ventura in her lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs and women who accused Harvey Weinstein of misconduct.
“Over the last decade, countless child actors have come forward to bravely share their experiences of abuse by adults in entertainment,” Wigdor and Kim said in a statement. “This conduct is inexcusable, and those involved—directly or indirectly—must be held accountable.”
Disney declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The filing comes two years after Lee appeared in the 2024 docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, where she discussed her treatment as a young Black performer on Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Show.
Although she did not disclose her allegations involving The Poof Point in the series, Lee later said Drake Bell’s account of childhood sexual abuse had been “retraumatizing” for her.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, help is available. Contact the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673), chat confidentially at RAINN.org, or text “HOPE” to 64673. Services are available 24/7.
