Kate Beckinsale is taking legal action against the producers of her 2024 thriller Canary Black - and not because of how terrible the movie turned out to be.
EW is reporting that the Underworld star has sued Anton Entertainment and producer John Zois for "negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and battery" in a May 21 amended complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The document claims that Beckinsale suffered a serious knee injury after being exposed to "dangerous and unsafe conditions" on the set of the action movie, which was released on Prime Video last year amid abysmal reviews.
The complaint claims, "Ms. Beckinsale and her team repeatedly raised red flags regarding unsafe conditions on and off set to Defendants, including long, dangerous set days, often lasting fifteen hours, inadequate equipment and medical personnel to help manage the high physical workload and recover from the exertion off set, and failure to adequately inform Ms. Beckinsale of what stunts she was expected to perform until often the moment she had to perform it."
The actress further alleges that despite the repeated concerns, the producers "continued to recklessly and intentionally forge ahead with unsafe filming conditions, forgoing safety to maintain profit margins, and in the process, put Ms. Beckinsale in harm’s way."
Beckinsale is said to have suffered a complex meniscus tear in her left knee while filming back in 2022, which required surgery and halted production for several months. The actress agreed to return to set once her surgeon insisted that she not be asked to perform any stunts involving running, jumping, harness suspension, squatting, or kicking. This request was allegedly disregarded, and Beckinsale reportedly suffered further aggravation of the knee after being "coerced into performing unsafe action sequences."
Beckinsale alluded to her experiences shooting Black Canary last year when she shared an Instagram post recalling some of her own toxic and abusive experiences as a show of solidarity with Deadpool and Wolverine actress Blake Lively, who had just filed a sexual harassment complaint against her It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni.
Among other things, Beckinsale said she was referred to as "that c*nt" on one set after complaining about a drunk co-star who repeatedly forgot his lines; was "felt-up" by a crew member on another project, and was deliberately hurt while shooting a stunt scene.
Representatives for Zois and Anton Entertainment have not yet responded to requests for comments.