The former live-in nanny to actors Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis alleges the couple fired her in retaliation after she sought help for depression and anxiety amid their tumultuous separation.
Erika Genaro, who began working for the actors in 2018, says their 2020 breakup created a tense environment that compromised her mental health, according to the lawsuit she filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Genaro alleges that Sudeikis often spoke to her about Wilde after Wilde’s “abrupt” departure from the family home in November 2020, leading her to feel pressure to “choose sides” between the couple.
Her babysitting duties also “increased exponentially” after Wilde left, Genaro alleges, leading her to speak with Wilde in a private conversation that was later relayed to Sudeikis.
Around January 2021, Sudeikis and Wilde agreed to participate in group therapy with Genaro to address the “emotional cost” of their situation, according to the lawsuit.
Genaro’s therapist referred her to an osteopath, who recommended a three-day break from communications with both Sudeikis and Wilde in an attempt to help reduce her anxiety and stress, the lawsuit says.
But once informed of the need for a three-day medical leave, Genaro alleges Sudeikis demanded to speak to her and fired her after she said she would not speak to him, citing her doctor’s recommendation.
Genaro alleges that “his termination was due to his anxiety/depression disability, and seeking the reasonable accommodation of a three-day leave for himself,” the lawsuit says.
A representative for Sudeikis declined to comment on the lawsuit, and a spokesperson for Wilde did not immediately respond to NBC News on Tuesday.
The DailyMail in October reported on alleged details of the couple’s breakup, using an unnamed babysitter as a source.
Wilde and Sudeikis issued a joint statement in October about the allegations, saying they were upset that their children’s caretaker made “false and defamatory accusations” about them.
“Your 18-month campaign of harassment against us, as well as loved ones, close friends and colleagues, has reached its unfortunate climax,” they said. “We will continue to focus on raising and protecting our children in the sincere hope that he now chooses to leave our family alone.”
Wilde and Sudeikis were together for nine years before their breakup was reported in 2020. They share two children but were not married.
Their custody battle has been in the news ever since, with Wilde receiving custody papers last year while speaking about his film “Don’t Worry Darling” at CinemaCon, a ticketed industry convention.
Sudeikis denied any knowledge of when or where the legal documents would be served on Wilde. A representative said in a statement on her behalf that he “would never approve of being served in such an inappropriate manner.”
Wilde addressed the issue in an interview with Variety in August promoting the film’s release.saying it was “really annoying”.
“The only people who suffered were my children, because they will have to see that, and they should never know what happened,” Wilde said. “For me, it was terrible, but the victims were 8- and 5-year-olds, and that’s very sad.”
