Actress's lawsuit: Brand breached contract, citing 'changed appearance'
Ayelet Zurer demands NIS 500,000 after company dumps the 46-year-old for a 25-year-old model as its spokesperson – and pays her four times as much – with two years left on Zurer's contract.
Award-winning Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer, 46, is suing fashion company Golbary for NIS 500,000, with representatives claiming she was fired as the brand's spokesperson because "her external appearance changed for the worse".
In the suit, recently brought before the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court, Zurer argues that she was "deeply hurt" by the company's decision to part ways – and by the manner of the split. "After 11 seasons in which she acted as Golbary's spokesperson, the company ended the contact with brutality and tried to make cynical, ugly use of the medical situation Zurer is in," alleged the suit.
The suit revealed that Zurer's original contract established a salary of $120,000 over two years plus $5,000 a day for every extra day of shooting beyond those required of her (15 days a year). An official document from Godbary shows that her replacement, 25-year-old model Esti Ginzburg, is to receive NIS 900,000 in 2016, about twice as much as Zurer made in two years and thus four times her salary.
The saga began in October, when Zurer was summoned for Golbary photo shoots and a runway show scheduled for February. According to the lawsuit, the actress declared that she could not participate in the show because of filming for the Hollywood film "Ben Hur", and suggested that it be pushed back to March. Later that month, Zurer's managers announced that she was also due for surgery, after which it would become clear whether she could fulfill her obligations to the brand.
According to Zurer, this was when Golbary reps asked her to propose possible replacements in case she could not continue her role, which she did. The lawsuit says that ten days after that conversation, the actress's agents announced she had successfully undergone the surgery.
Zurer further claims that company owner Moshe Golbary then arrived for an unscheduled meeting at her agency's office and made it clear that he was not interested in continuing the partnership. The lawsuit alleges that he explained this by saying that "her external appearance changed for the worse." Zurer's agent, Boaz Ben-Zion, responded with a letter containing a brand-new photo of the actress, "for the purpose of illustrating her 'degree of ugliness', as you said. Photoshop was not used for this photo and is one of several taken yesterday."
The brand said in a statement that "we have no desire or interest in discussing Ayelet's appearance, and any discussion of the matter will help no one."
According to Zurer, she was supposed to be the face of Golbary for another two years – but proceeded to dump her in favor of Ginzburg. "Golbary decided to 'get rid' of Zurer and replaced her with 25-year-old Esti Ginzburg," stated the lawsuit. "The fact that there is a written contract between the two sides for another two years did not stand in Golbary's way."
Golbary representatives claimed Zurer had agreed to find a replacement after she informed them of medical problems preventing her from being available to the brand.
Zurer is suing for the remainder of her salary, NIS 421,000, plus NIS 40,000 for mental distress. "Golbary behaved in the ugliest way imaginable," said the lawsuit.
