Days Of Our Lives' director Albert Alarr faced misconduct probe
Days Of Our Lives’ director Albert Alarr faced internal misconduct investigation and was accused of ‘groping’ actresses on hit show – as cast and crew of soap opera are left ‘angered’ by probe outcome
- Show distributor – Sony Pictures Television – conducted investigation – which is said to have ‘evolved’ when misconduct allegations were made against Alarr, 67
- Alarr, who has worked on the show since 2003 – faced claims of groping, abusive behavior and making inappropriate and crass remarks
- Alarr admitted to ‘at least some’ of the investigation allegations, received a written warning and has kept his job as director/co-executive producer
- Alarr has not responded to requests for comment
- A Corday Productions representative said: ‘Corday Productions has taken a series of actions designed to ensure a safe and respectful work environment’
Days Of Our Lives director/co-executive producer Albert Alarr was the subject of an nine-week internal investigation after misconduct allegations were made against him by numerous parties.
The investigation launched in March – which saw 30-40 people, primarily women interviewed – was initially sparked by a complaint made by a female employee related to recent lay-offs, which also alleged that women had been ‘disproportionally impacted’ and were not receiving equal pay for the show.
The show’s distributor – Sony Pictures Television – conducted the investigation – which is said to have ‘evolved’ when misconduct allegations were made against Alarr, 67, – including claims of groping, abusive behavior, and inappropriate and crass remarks, reports Deadline.
The long-running soap opera’s cast and crew have been left in ‘shock, disbelief, disappointment and anger’ following the outcome of the investigation into Alarr which has seen him remain in his role with a written warning.
Corday Productions confirmed the investigation in a statement and said the company had ‘taken a series of actions designed to ensure a safe and respectful work environment’ – but did not elaborate on the specifics of what those measures are.
The publication reports Alarr admitted to ‘at least some’ of the allegations during the investigation, with the report completed and handed over to the show production company, Corday Productions. He has not responded to requests for comment.
Probe: Days Of Our Lives director/co-executive producer Albert Alarr was the subject of an nine-week internal investigation after misconduct allegations were made against him by numerous parties (pictured 2015)
Sources state seven women were cut as contract players during the layoffs – five were let go and two left on their own accord- compared to one male actor who was laid off.
It was also noted that only one of the five DOOL episodes airing each week was consistently directed by a woman – with one female director working on Monday’s shows alongside three full-time male directors including Alarr, who has worked on the show since 2003 – who directs Friday episodes.
Witnesses who have seen Alarr’s behavior said issues ‘had always been present’ but they intensified after he was named co-executive producer in 2015 – with insiders alleging he had been ‘abusive’, ‘made people feel humiliated’, bullied people, and made ‘inappropriate, crass and vulgar comments.’
An unnamed DOOL veteran said: ‘He became much more tyrannical, I think he became much more aware of his unilateral power, and that Ken [Corday – executive producer] wasn’t going to be involved in decision-making. And I think [Alarr] took the ball and ran with it, and I think it’s ruined the show.’
It was claimed a significant number of women – including actresses in major roles – had left the show in the past ‘couple of years’ with men also allegedly bullied on set, with one male actor leaving ‘abruptly’ after Alarr ‘screamed’ at him in public.
This incident was said to have happened after the actor got a hair trim – although he was not on contract at the time and was therefore not obligated to maintain his appearance.
Many complaints were made about alleged inappropriate comments made by Alarr, with another DOOL veteran saying: ‘It’s kind of a running joke that everything that comes out of Albert’s mouth is inappropriate’
Another staffer said Alarr’s working environment was akin to a ‘frat house’ in which sexual remarks about women were ‘normalized’ and Alarr directed people ‘in the most vulgar, crass ways’.
Sony Pictures Television – conducted the investigation – which is said to have ‘evolved’ when misconduct allegations were made against Alarr, 67, – including claims of groping (pictured November 2022)
Two more sources claimed they had seen Alarr say to a male actor filming a love scene in front of his female co-star and crew: ‘You’re f*****g horny, man, you just want to f*** her.’
Witnesses also told the publication Alarr had been accused of groping and inappropriate touching of actresses during his directing instructions, with the investigation focusing in an incident from ‘five to six years ago’ in which Alarr ‘forcefully grabbed and kissed a DOOL actress without her consent at an event after the show had won an award, leaving her horrified.’
The actress was said to be ‘terrified’ to be left alone with Alarr afterwards.
Another alleged incident from a year ago saw a source claim an actress who filmed an intimate scene directed by Alarr left ‘humilated’ after he reportedly told her to ‘try and remember what it was like when you were young and vibrant.’
The alleged incident unfolded when the prop department failed to bring the actress – who was in her early 40s at the time- an extra sheet to wrap around herself.
She was trying to move the sheets to protect her modesty, when Alarr, allegedly annoyed by the delay, told her to hurry up and made the remark.
The actress was said to have told Alarr ‘f*** you’ as he tried to laugh it off, and was then reportedly left in tears.
Alarr is said to have apologized to the actress after a conversation with the stage manager – but months later – she was allegedly informed she would be written off the show.
Sources told the publication she was then asked to stay but without a contract as a recurring star.
Employees said Alarr had fostered a ‘fear factor’ on the set, leaving people scared to speak up.
One said: ‘You don’t want to challenge him, because he’s in charge of everything; he decides who stays, who goes, who get stories. If you are someone that was going to make a problem for him, he would just call you a budget cut and get rid of you.
The show, which currently airs on Peacock, was renewed for two more seasons in March this year – totalling 60 seasons.
A source said: ‘Nobody should treat people like this. In this day and age for men to be treating women like this, to take away their voices and treat them like they don’t matter and they’re second-class citizens, is just appalling.’
Executive producer Ken Corday (pictured) was praised by people who have worked on the show – but people said they ‘don’t feel they know him well enough to confide in him about production issues’ related to Alarr
It was claimed that Alarr’s alleged misconduct went undiscovered for so long due to the ‘lack’ of HR procedures on the show – which tapes in Burbank – while HR is based at Sony TV in Culver City.
Therefore HR issues had to go to producers, with Alarr ‘most likely’ to handle them.
One female production employee was allegedly ‘accosted, berated and yelled at’ and a male actor put his hands on her – but when an actress saw what happened and told Alarr, who then saw the actor had taken his hands away, he reportedly ‘chose to just walk in the other direction’ instead of discussing the incident.
Alarr allegedly mocked HR standards and it has been claimed he would ‘chuckle’ after making offensive remarks and then joke about what would happen if HR found out.
It was also claimed that if he ever was called out for his remarks, he would insist it was ‘just a joke.’
Alarr’s wife also works on the show as a writer – with cast said to have been ‘really upset’ when her name appeared on scripts in March.
Ken Corday was praised by people who have worked on the show – but people said they ‘don’t feel they know him well enough to confide in him about production issues.’
At least two employees are said to have gone to Corday to discuss the allegations against Alarr, ahead of speaking with investigators – but were asked to ‘let the process take its course and wait for the report’ a source said.
Insiders have also claimed Corday Productions has not addressed the investigation internally and not shared results with staff..
Alarr is said to have received a written warning and was asked to undergo training – but has been allowed to keep his co-executive producer and director roles – leaving cast and crew furious.
Alarr was in attendance on two Zoom calls with a Sony HR representative during the investigation – one for the cast and one for the crew.
The calls were for Spotlight on Respect training – which explains what constitutes harassment – with attendees claiming Alarr’s presence on the calls while this was discussing made people uncomfortable.
His presence on set has been ‘scaled back’ over the past two months, although it is not known if this is due to the investigation or the writers strike.
Producers paused taping on the show last month, with an additional week hiatus starting June 17 added onto a two week break from July 4 – though sources say this decision was made in part due to the writers strike.
A representative for Corday Productions told Deadline: ‘Corday Productions engaged Sony Pictures Television, which distributes Days Of Our Lives, to conduct an impartial investigation into this matter.
‘After a two-month investigation, the independent investigator produced a report with its findings. Based on those findings, Corday Productions has taken a series of actions designed to ensure a safe and respectful work environment.’
DailyMail.com has also contacted representatives for Sony Pictures Television and Corday Productions for comment.
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