The American porn star Melissa Hutchison has sued one of her former castmates, claiming that she was forced to finish a multi-person scene despite there being a serious emergency on set.
Hutchison, who performs under the name Phoenix Marie, filed the lawsuit against actor and director Danny D earlier this year, about an incident that happened while filming in Barcelona, Spain in October 2023.
In a report by The Daily Beast it is claimed that among others those involved in the scene were Danny D, Hutchison, veteran porn star Cherie DeVille and a "young female with the screen name Zaawaadi."
Hutchison who is a trained emergency medical technician claims that Zaawaadi told her that she had taken three anti-diarrheal tablets, which is beyond the recommended dose.
To combat this, Hutchison informed Zaawaadi to take two natural probiotic pills and two tablets of a natural laxative to lessen the impact of the anti-diarrheal tablets.
However, when filming the scene Danny D’s girlfriend Liss Lacao yelled: "Emergency, emergency! She can’t breathe." Hutchison says that she rushed inside the house to find Zaawaadi on the sofa adding that she was "shaking violently and screaming that she couldn’t breathe."
Hutchison asked Zaawaadi what she had taken to which she replied: "only the 4 pills you gave me." She then began emergency care on the young woman and called for an ambulance and asked her sister for Zaawaadi's medical history.
The lawsuit claims that Danny D was hesitant to involve the authorities in the incident and demanded that Hutchison conclude the scene despite being "severely shaken."
The next day, Hutchison was informed by Danny D that Zaawaadi was now in a medically induced coma and as she had "overdosed on lithium."
Danny D has since responded to the accusations against him calling them "false and unfounded."
In addition, Lacao told the Daily Beast: "At the moment, I’m not going to comment on anything, just, obviously, because of the situation."
Zaawaadi, who has made a full recovery after five days in a coma, also released a statement thanking all those for restoring her to full physical health but admitted she is still struggling mentally.
To the recent article made by Pheonix Marie regarding the incident in Barcelona \nI thanks 2all who had been giving me support and courage to gain my strength back mentally and physically.Especially my whole family and friends\ud83e\udd70 so happy to be alive and spend more time with you\u2026— (@)
Hutchison, who is claiming $30 million in damages from the incident due to loss of revenue, 'severe emotional distress' and 'malicious and false claims'.
As well as Danny D, the lawsuit names Canadian firm Ethical Capital Partners, which owns Aylo, who operate PornHub, three Aylo execs and a producer on the film.
In a statement, Ethical Capital Partners said: “Out of respect for the integrity of court proceedings, our policy is not to comment on ongoing litigation. We look forward to the facts being fully and fairly aired in that forum.”
This is one of several incidents that have rocked the porn industry in 2024 including the untimely deaths of Kagney Linn Carter and Sophia Leone as well as the condition of Emily Willis, who recently woke from a coma.
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