Former Child Actor Says a Disney Worker Assaulted Her at 14 During a 2001 Shoot

Raquel Lee's complaint over the 2001 Disney Channel movie 'The Poof Point' does not name the alleged assailant, The Hollywood Reporter reported on August 21, 2026. Disney declined to comment.

A former child actor says a Disney employee groomed and repeatedly assaulted her at 14 on a 2001 Disney Channel movie set. The allegations appear in a new court filing by Raquel Lee, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter on August 21, 2026. The outlet's account does not carry a case number, a court, or a filing date. The complaint does not name the man.

The movie is The Poof Point, shot in Salt Lake City. The filing describes the alleged assailant as a middle-aged male employee involved in the filming, the outlet reported. It alleges the assaults began in his room at the hotel where cast and crew were staying. They happened on multiple occasions, the complaint says, and continued later on a flight back to Los Angeles. The suit alleges Lee was raped and sexually assaulted.

The claim asks a court to weigh more than what one worker is alleged to have done. It asks what an employer owed a child working on its own set. The complaint accuses Disney of negligence.

On set, according to the filing, the man whispered sexually explicit and harassing comments to Lee. He also used hugs to get close to her, the complaint says. The conduct happened in plain view of the cast and crew, the filing contends. Sound technicians handling the cast's microphones were within earshot, it says. No one at Disney intervened, according to the complaint. It also alleges Lee was separated from her on-set guardian for most of each day.

Lee's performance then declined, the filing says. Multiple Disney executives then criticized her changed behavior and trauma response, according to the complaint. They called her out of control, it says, and said she had “a demon inside her.” The complaint says Disney threatened to take away a role she had lined up on another of its projects, and then took it away.

Disney declined to comment on the litigation, the outlet reported. The account gives no indication the company has yet filed an answer or a demurrer. None of the allegations has been tested in court.

Lee is represented by Doug Wigdor, a plaintiffs' lawyer. His past clients include Cassie Ventura in her case against Sean “Diddy” Combs, per The Hollywood Reporter. He also represented the hotel housekeeper who accused former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault, the outlet reported. Multiple women who alleged misconduct by Harvey Weinstein were clients as well. In a statement to the outlet, Wigdor and his colleague Jane Kim said: “This conduct is inexcusable, and those involved — directly or indirectly — must be held accountable.”

The complaint also argues Lee's experience fit a longer pattern. It asserts this is not the first time Disney has enabled a sexual predator. It cites previously reported accusations connected to the company over decades. Those are the filing's characterizations, not findings.

Lee kept working with Disney after The Poof Point. She recurred as a voiceover artist on the Disney Channel series The Proud Family. She returned for the Disney+ revival, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. She appeared on FX's Snowfall in 2019.

She also took part in the 2024 docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. There she discussed her treatment as a Black performer on Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show. She did not raise the Poof Point claims in the docuseries, the outlet reported. After it aired, she said Drake Bell's account of on-set sexual abuse was retraumatizing for her.

Several things remain unknown from the published account. The causes of action beyond negligence are not described. Nor are the venue and the filing date. It is unclear whether the alleged assailant has been identified to the court under seal. Also unclear: which California revival provisions, if any, the filing relies on to bring a 2001 claim now.

Source: hollywoodreporter.com, retrieved August 22, 2026.