Lawsuit Alleges Years-Old Abuse and Negligence
Former child actor Raquel Lee Bolleau has filed a lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company, alleging that a Disney employee sexually assaulted her in 2001 while she was filming the Disney Channel movie The Poof Point. The complaint, filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accuses Disney of negligence and failing to protect her, according to court documents reviewed by multiple outlets.
Bolleau was 14 at the time of the alleged incidents and is now 39. The lawsuit describes the alleged perpetrator as a middle-aged male Disney employee who was more than twice her age and whose name is not disclosed in the filing. The suit claims the employee gave her alcohol and assaulted her multiple times at a hotel in Salt Lake City and on a flight back to California.
The complaint also alleges that the employee made inappropriate comments to Bolleau on set in front of other adults—including the remark, “last night was so good”—and that no one at Disney intervened. It further claims that production separated her from her guardian and failed to provide appropriate supervision.
Disney Accused of Failing to Respond to Signs of Abuse
According to the lawsuit, Bolleau’s behavior and performance deteriorated during filming, but Disney executives blamed her rather than investigating the cause. The suit states that she was described as “out of control” and that an upcoming role was canceled. The filing asserts that the abuse was “apparent to the adults on Disney’s set” and that “Disney repeatedly failed” Bolleau.
Bolleau is seeking damages for economic losses, emotional distress, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and other costs. The complaint does not specify a total amount.
Past Work and Continued Relationship with Disney
After The Poof Point, Bolleau continued working for Disney. She voiced a character in the animated series The Proud Family from 2001 to 2005 and reprised the role in the Disney+ reboot The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder from 2022 to 2025. She also appeared in the 2024 documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, where she discussed her experiences as a Black actor on The Amanda Show but did not discuss the allegations in her recent lawsuit, according to her legal filing and media reports.
Attorney Statement and Disney Response
Bolleau’s attorneys, Douglas Wigdor and Jane Kim, released a statement to PEOPLE, describing the case as part of a broader pattern of abuse in the entertainment industry. They said, “Over the last decade, countless child actors have come forward to bravely share their experiences of abuse by adults in entertainment. As former government prosecutors, our message to the entertainment industry is simple: This conduct is inexcusable, and those involved—directly or indirectly—must be held accountable.”
A representative for Disney could not be immediately reached for comment. As of the latest reports, Disney has not responded to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also invokes the case of Harvey Weinstein, asserting that Disney has a history of enabling sexual abusers, though this claim is part of the legal filing and has not been independently verified.