CAA Claims Sage Steele’s Lawsuit is a “Meritless Attempt” to Avoid Paying Commission She Owes Them

Sage Steele settled with Disney Corporation’s ESPN last year for a little over $500,000 plus attorney fees and costs after claiming she was wrongfully suspended and forced to apologize for her comments on Jay Cutler’s podcast about the conglomerate’s “sick and scary” vaccine policies. Steele was swiftly taken off the air for ten days in October 2021. She also discussed Barack Obama’s race and was removed from high-level events for Disney-affiliated brands.

This led to her filing a lawsuit in May 2022. She was also required to make a public apology.

Since then, Steele started the Sage Steele Show and has been a guest on other networks as a speaker on numerous topics. She made headlines once again when she filed a lawsuit Tuesday morning against entertainment agency CAA. Steele claimed that she went to her agency of 11 years in 2021 seeking advice to recover from her mishap.

She claims that CAA immediately took ESPN’s side and ‘sacrificed’ her to maintain their relationship with the brand. When Steele returned from her suspension, she claimed that ESPN systematically “sidelined” her. Her lawyer mentioned what CAA should have done at that moment.

“If CAA had been acting in Steele’s best interests rather than its own, it should have stood up to ESPN on Steele’s behalf rather than pushing Steele, and advising her as her agent, to agree to an apology and a suspension,” Steele’s lawyer Bryan Freedman claimed. “It certainly should have advised Steele to seek legal counsel to understand and defend her rights. If CAA had met its fiduciary obligations to Steele, Steele would never have been forced to make a public apology and submit to a humiliating suspension, and she would not have had to go through a costly and public lawsuit to undo the harm CAA allowed to be done to Steele.”

CAA responded to the claims, explaining that Steele filed this in an attempt to counteract the commission she owes them, which was previously filed with and presented to the California Labor Commission. It is in the final stages, and to CAA, this is an attempt to swindle her way or buy time, with the potential that she will have to reimburse the agency once the decision is made.

This situation will get a lot messier before it brings clarity. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.