A prominent Hollywood talent agency is embroiled in a legal battle over management conflicts.
The agency, which has been present in Hollywood for more than 40 years and represented Korean-American actor Kim Jooryoung in Netflix’s “The Squid Game,” as well as Dove Cameron, Jordan Fisher, Bryan Tee, and Matthew Morrison, has recently been shut down following a lawsuit.
According to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the agency’s president Brian Cho and other executives of A3 Artist Agency in West Hollywood filed a lawsuit against Adam Bold, A3’s chairman.
Cho alleged 10 counts against Bold, including fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and malpractice.
Bold is the founder of The Mutual Fund Store and has since become a high-profile Hollywood entertainment executive.
The lawsuit was filed on December 4 last year, and the plaintiffs’ lawyer is seeking a preliminary injunction against Bold and damages.
The lawsuit stems from the sale of A3 to rival Gersh agency in September of last year.
“In the process of merging A3’s most profitable digital division and agents into Gersh, Bold did not seek board approval,” the plaintiffs allege, “and even threatened to fire Cho and forced him to amend the contract to gain sole discretion in negotiating the sale.”
A3’s predecessor, Abrams Artists Agency, was founded in 1977. In 2018, Cho came to the management of the agency and changed its name to A3. After Cho took over the management, the number of agents increased to 80, and the agency expanded by signing a series of famous actors. The complaint also alleges that Bold’s personal life adversely affected the business.
Cho referred to Bold as a “creep” and a “sex pest” in the complaint.
“Bold has made sexual comments to female employees and has spoken at employee retreats while high on cocaine,” the plaintiffs allege, adding, “He has settled sexual harassment claims without board approval and has been destroying the company.”
Bold has vehemently denied the allegations.
In a recent response to the court, Bold’s defense argued that “the allegations in the complaint are without evidence and are an attempt to seek money under the guise of a lawsuit.”
He also filed a motion to disqualify Cho’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, from representation in the case.
“Plaintiffs’ counsel is using confidential information from other cases involving A3 in the past, which constitutes a conflict of interest,” said Parker Shaffie, the law firm representing Bold, “and is defaming his client with unverified and false statements.”
A3 has been shuttered since February, and Cho, currently engaged in a legal battle with Bold, launched a new agency, Arise Artists Agency, last month with former A3 executives.
Cho is a Korean American who has spent more than 20 years in Hollywood’s talent business industry. He began his career at Abrams Artists Agency, where he advanced through to the chief financial officer and then to president of A3.
BY YEOL JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
