Hourglass empties for controversial Days of Our Lives producer

Article content

Like sands through the hourglass, so is the off-screen drama at Days of Our Lives.

Article content

Albert Alarr, co-executive producer of the long-running soap opera, has been ousted following an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct.

Article content

Deadline was the first to report last month that the producer was being investigated after he allegedly unfairly targeted women during the show’s March layoffs.

Alarr, who had been with the daytime show since 2011, was also accused of frequently making inappropriate and offensive comments, bullying, intimidation, groping female cast members and forcefully kissing an actress without her consent.

Article content

Article content

Alarr issued a statement, maintaining his innocence and adding that he could not overstate how “heartbreaking” he found the situation and that it’s “important to set the record straight.

Article content

“Every day, I worked with hundreds of people, the overwhelming majority of whom would disagree with recent mischaracterizations of me,” he said. “I have been in this industry for decades and not a single complaint has ever been made against me until now.”

Following the probe, more than 25 cast members signed a petition demanding that Alarr be removed from the show with two former stars, Lisa Rinna and Farah Galfond, lending their support.

Rinna, who played Billie Reed, took to her Instagram Stories to urge Sony Pictures Television, the show’s distributor, and series producer Ken Corday to “do the right thing now” and “protect your talent,” the outlet reported.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star added: “Protect your young actors!! This has gone on for far too long.”

Article content

Rinna originally appeared on the soap from 1992 to 1995 and returned to the spinoff Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem in 2021.

Galfond, who played Mimi Lockhart from 1999 to 2007, recalled her experiences on social media, including her “first-ever ‘love’ scene” when she was 19.

“He was new, so I was already nervous not having one of the other directors that I was used to,” she recalled of Alarr on Twitter.

Article content

“I was extremely modest and freaked out to be standing in my underwear in front of dozens of crew (a.k.a. men that had known me since I was 15… ew) and did Albert do or say one little thing to make me feel remotely at ease? Absolutely not.

“He pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed me on a particular issue, and was annoyed when I stood my ground.”

Alarr added in his statement: “Many of the claims recently referenced in the media are simply false,” adding that “others have been taken so out of context or are so twisted that they are unrecognizable from the truth.”

Alarr has been replaced by series producer Janet Drucker.

Article content