Apple Studios has been hit with a lawsuit by a Native American costume designer. The Killers of the Flower Moon designer sued the studio for excluding her from award consideration. They are accused of taking revenge on Kristi Marie Hoffman, as she had earlier raised discrimination complaints.
Notably, she was discriminated against based on her race on the sets of the movie. In 2022, her complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reached a confidential settlement.
Hoffman, who worked as an assistant costume designer, said that she was not given credit and that Apple Studios “attempted to erase her contributions.”
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She said that she was mentioned as the first assistant costume designer and nominated for the Costume Designers Guild Awards. However, upon the request of lead designer Jacqueline West, she was stopped from taking credit. The Costume Designers Guild also decided that her credit removal was improper.
Throughout the multitude of award nominations for KOTFM, Apple teamed up with West and CDG to promote the film and its costume design,
Hoffman said about West in her lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
She added that she was behind “most of the research and costume design for the film.” In spite of this, her role was “completely ignored.”
The lawsuit states,
Hoffman, who has been in the film and TV industry since around 2004 and has contributed to many productions, poured her heart into ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ as a film about Native Americans to which she could relate as a Native herself.
Hoffman endured discriminatory conduct on the set of ‘KOTFM,’ as she was subsequently discredited for her work during the film’s promotion and release and targeted with ads celebrating West and O’Keefe for the results of her hard work.
