Days of Our Lives director/co-executive producer Albert Alarr is leaving the long-running series, after a misconduct investigation and a petition calling for his removal.
Alarr, 67, will be replaced by series producer Janet Drucker. The daytime drama will also institute the presence of HR on set in accordance with Deadline.
On Friday, the series’ executive producer, Ken Corday, made the announcement in an email to the cast and crew.
“Effective immediately, Janet Drucker will be elevated to Co-Executive Producer of Days of Our Lives, replacing Albert Alarr, who will step down from his role,” the email reads.
“Going forward, we will be implementing additional HR protocols, including an increased HR presence as well as channels to report any concerns. It is imperative that we have a safe and inclusive work environment.
The latest: Days of Our Lives director/co-executive producer Albert Alarr is leaving the long-running series, after a misconduct investigation and a petition calling for his removal
“Production will resume, as planned, on Monday with new management in place. As a reminder, we still have a pre-planned outage for the week of August 14th.
News broke last week that Alarr was being investigated internally for misconduct and accused of ‘groping’ actresses on the hit show.
And yesterday Lisa Rinna, 60, who has been seen on and off on the show for more than 30 years, called on Corday and Sony Pictures Television to follow up on the investigation.
The reality star took to Instagram Stories on Wednesday night to urge superiors to ‘do the right thing now’ amid a report from Deadline that at least 25 cast members have signed a petition for the replacement of Alarr.
‘Protect your talent!!!!’ said Rinna, who starred as Billie Reed on the soap. “Listen to what they’re saying – there’s a petition that 25 people have signed.”
The group of actors said in the petition that many of them “feel – and will continue to feel – very uncomfortable and distraught if he were to remain involved with the show.”
He continued, “Many of us were physically or verbally abused by him, including witnessing these reprehensible and offensive actions.”
The petitioners called for Alarr’s replacement, adding, “We all want to make the most of this important moment, not just for us in entertainment, but for our loyal viewers and the culture as a whole.”
His replacement: Alarr, 67, will be replaced by series producer Janet Drucker (pictured). The daytime drama will also institute the presence of HR on the set according to the deadline
Announcement: Executive producer Ken Corday (pictured) made the announcement in an email to cast and crew on Friday
Charges: News broke last week that Alarr was being investigated internally for misconduct and was accused of ‘groping’ actresses on the hit show; Photographed with Ron Carlivati in 2022
The show was not in production last week and its return was delayed for a week following the report. Alarr remained scheduled to direct an episode this week.
Last week, Rinna described the work environment on the set of Days of Our Lives under Alarr’s direction as “disgusting,” as in a screenshot of an article discussing the investigation she said. writes: “Karma is ab ***h”.
The star, who returned to play her 1990s character Billie Reed for a week in 2018, added: “Well it took a long time… Let’s see when is the last time I went there and that I did this week on Peacock, I couldn’t ‘believe the working environment.’
“It was disgusting, I was shocked. I informed a lot of people, including Albert, and they haven’t done anything so far it seems,’ she added .
Lisa originated the role of Billie in 1992 but left the show in 1995. She reprized her role from 2002 to 2003, 2012 to 2013, and for a few episodes in February 2018.
The star returned for the last time to play his fiery alter ego in 2021.
It was revealed on July 25 that Days of Our Lives director/co-executive producer Alarr had been the subject of a nine-week internal investigation after numerous parties made allegations of misconduct to his against.
The investigation launched in March – which saw 30-40 people, mostly women interviewed – was initially sparked by a complaint from an employee linked to recent layoffs, who also alleged that women had been “disproportionately affected and weren’t getting equal pay for the show.
Petition: The day before, Lisa Rinna, 60, called on Corday and Sony Pictures Television to act on the actors’ investigation and petition to oust Alarr; Pictured 2023
Speaking out: She took to Instagram Stories urging superiors to ‘do the right thing now’ amid a new report from Deadline that at least 25 cast members have signed a petition for the replacement from Alarr
Her thoughts: Rinna previously described the working environment on the set of Days of Our Lives under Alarr’s direction as ‘disgusting’
Latest comeback: Rinna has appeared on the show on and off for over 30 years. She last returned to play her fiery alter-ego Billie Reed in 2021. She was previously under Alarr during the week-long shoot in 2018; Pictured on the show in 2021
The show’s distributor – Sony Pictures Television – carried out the investigation – which is said to have ‘evolved’ when allegations of misconduct were brought against Alarr – including allegations of groping, abusive behavior and inappropriate remarks and rude, reports Deadline.
The cast and crew of the long-running soap opera were “shocked, in disbelief, disappointed and angry” following the outcome of Alarr’s investigation which saw him stay in his role with a written warning.
Corday Productions confirmed the investigation in a statement and said the company had “taken a series of measures to ensure a safe and respectful work environment” – but did not elaborate on details of those measures.
The publication reports that Alarr admitted “at least some” of the allegations during the investigation, with the report completed and turned over to show production company Corday Productions. He did not respond to requests for comment.
