Former ‘E.R.’ actress, who accused George Clooney of blacklisting her, shot dead by L.A. deputies
Martha Ross
PUBLISHED: August 31, 2018 at 9:54 a.m. | UPDATED: August 31, 2018 at 3:57 p.m.
Categories:California News, Crime and Public Safety, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Movies, News, Things To Do, TV Streaming
Former “E.R.” actress Vanessa Marquez has been identified as the distraught woman who was shot and killed Thursday afternoon when Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in South Pasadena went to her home to perform a welfare check, the Daily Mail and other outlets are reporting.
The welfare check turned fatal after Marquez, 49, allegedly became uncooperative and pulled out a gun, prompting an officer to open fire in response. The weapon turned out to be BB gun, which was described as a replica semi-automatic handgun, according to KTLA.
Police on Friday identified the woman as Vanessa Marquez, who was a former regular on the popular TV drama “E.R.” She also appeared in such films as “Stand and Deliver.”
Marquez was last in the news in October when she accused her former “E.R” co-star George Clooney of helping to “blacklist” her after she complained about rampant sexual harassment on the set of the hit NBC medical drama.
Harvey Weinstein and George Clooney attend the 2005 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Awards reception (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
Her complaints came in a series of tweets, issued after Clooney’s one-time producing collaborator Harvey Weinstein was accused in reports of sexually assaulted and harassing multiple actress over the decades. Clooney spoke out against Weinstein, but Marquez called “B.S.” on the actor trying to distance himself from the producer.
The actress, who played Nurse Wendy Goldman on the first three seasons of the show, said, “Clooney helped blacklist me when I spoke up about harassment on ER.”
She added that the message on the set, perhaps emphasized by Clooney himself, is that women “who don’t play the game” will lose their careers.
In a statement to E! News, Clooney subsequently denied playing any role in Marquez being shut out of further work on “E.R.” He said he had no role in casting decisions, but he said he believed her story that this happened to her.
“I had no idea Vanessa was blacklisted. I take her at her word,” Clooney said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Mendoza told reporters Marquez had recently been suffering from eating disorders and had become severely disabled, the Daily Mail reported.
Mendoza said deputies were called to the scene by a landlord who said she was “undergoing some medical problems, some seizures,” according to the The South Pasadenan, which added that officers had gone to her two-story home in the past.
“At the time (of the shooting) there was an LA County mental health clinician here with the officers,” Mendoza said, according to the South Pasadenan. “They began to communicate with her, she became very uncooperative and during that contact she armed herself with a handgun, she pointed it at the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred.”
Marquez was shot at least once in the torso and treated briefly at the scene before being rushed to a nearby hospital.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident, which is routine for all officer-involved shootings that occur in cities within L.A. County.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/31/former-e-r-actress-who-accused-george-clooney-of-blacklisting-her-shot-dead-by-police/