Alright, folks, this one is about as explosive as it gets. We’ve got Hollywood, power players, scandal, and a lawsuit that could send shockwaves through the entertainment industry. Buckle up.
Actor Tyler Adkins, 27, has filed a lawsuit that reads like the plot of a high-stakes legal thriller. He’s accusing NBCUniversal of firing him in retaliation for reporting alleged criminal activity involving a “senior” executive at Universal Theatrical Group. And when we say criminal, we’re not talking about a little creative accounting—we’re talking about allegations so disturbing they’ll make your skin crawl.
Here’s how it all unraveled. Adkins, who’s appeared in “American Horror Stories” and “Call Me Kat”, claims he was involved in a three-year relationship with Chris Herzberger, the “Senior Vice President” of Universal Theatrical Group.
That relationship, he says, started in 2021 and wasn’t exactly based on romance—according to the lawsuit, Herzberger “demanded” sex, saying it would be “good” for Adkins’ career. And refusing? Well, that, according to Adkins, came with threats of being blacklisted from the industry.
Fast-forward to June of last year. Adkins, suspicious that Herzberger was cheating, went through his Grindr messages. What he allegedly found was “far” worse than infidelity. The lawsuit states that Herzberger had moved conversations to Telegram, where he allegedly discussed seeking out children for sex. Other users in the chat allegedly shared horrific accounts of molesting minors, and according to the lawsuit, Herzberger asked how he could “participate.”
At that point, Adkins says he did what anyone with a conscience would do—he went to the police. He even turned over screenshots. The LAPD allegedly told him to bring in Herzberger’s phone, which Adkins knew would be nearly impossible. So, as an alternative, he reported the findings to NBCUniversal’s “human resources” department, assuming they’d take action.
According to Adkins, that move set off a “firestorm” inside NBCUniversal. A detective allegedly warned him that he had ““kicked a hornet’s nest,”” and the company reportedly pressured police to wrap up the investigation “immediately.” Days later, LAPD executed a search warrant at Herzberger’s home, seizing his phone, laptop, and iPad. And then? Adkins was “fired.”
That call reportedly came from Lowe Cunningham, another exec at Universal Theatrical Group. Adkins alleges Cunningham acknowledged that what was happening was ““unfair”” but dismissed it as a budgeting issue. When Adkins pushed back, Cunningham allegedly warned him to ““be very careful”” or risk making ““powerful enemies”” in Hollywood. If that’s not straight out of a movie, I don’t know what is.
Now, Adkins isn’t just claiming wrongful termination—his lawsuit includes allegations of “sexual battery, retaliation, quid pro quo sexual harassment, a hostile work environment,” and more. He also says he was misclassified as an independent contractor while working under producer Marco Pennette, getting paid just $500 a week while exceeding 40-hour workweeks without proper breaks.
NBCUniversal has yet to comment, and Herzberger’s current status within the company is “murky” at best. He’s reportedly been scrubbed from SEC filings and NBCUniversal articles about projects he worked on, including “Death Becomes Her.” But what happens next? That’s the million-dollar question.
