Some dude in Hollywood named Todd Shemarya is getting sued by his ex-assistant, who claims that he sexually harassed her and was a big racist and walked around naked at work and several other unsavory things. The original story noted that Shemarya's firm " bills itself as the "number one" talent agency in the world" that claims to represent a slew of A-List stars like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio. Naturally this snowballed, and yesterday Page Six called Shemarya "A TOP Hollywood talent agent - whose roster includes Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Aniston and Matthew McConaughey." But one brave writer at Variety had the balls to point out: Todd Shemarya is nobody:
Full disclosure: After living in, working in and writing about Hollywood for the last 11 years, I had never heard of Todd Shemarya before this morning. And while I no longer cover the agency beat, some quick double-checking confirms that, yes, Pitt, McConaughey and Portman are still represented by CAA. DiCaprio is still represented by Rick Yorn. Jolie by Geyer Kosinski. And so on and so forth.
Turns out Todd Shemarya is a guy who basically brokers endorsement deals, which is a far different (and less prestigious) thing than being someone's actual "agent." Although he did reportedly help Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie sell their baby pictures, which would make this allegation highly unprofessional:
"Shemarya frequently pulled out the August 1997 edition of 'Playgirl' magazine," which features nude photos of Brad Pitt, the complaint states. Devlin says Shemarya called Pitt, an agency client, his "golden goose," while ridiculing the size of his penis... He intercepted expensive gifts that designers sent for agency clients Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, gave DiCaprio and Pitt the gifts as if Shemarya had bought them, and then sent fake thank you notes to the designers, according to the complaint.
Anyhow don't believe everything you read. [Courthouse News, Variety] UPDATE: A statement from Adam Levin, lawyer for Todd Shemarya: "The allegations by Ms. Devlin in her lawsuit are wholly unfounded. Ms Devlin is a disgruntled employee who was terminated by Shemarya Artists... and it is our belief that this lawsuit is a desperate attempt at retaliation and we intend to vigorously fight it."