Valerie Harper Faces Counter Lawsuit Over Exit From Matthew Lombardo's Play

In news that may make you question humanity in general, actress Valerie Harper has been hit with a $2 million lawsuit from Broadway playwright and director Matthew Lombardo. Lombardo is accusing the actress of concealing the fact that she had cancer until after she was signed on to act in his play.

The suit is in response to Harper's own claim to her payment for the time after she left.

According to the New York Daily News, Lombardo’s claim is that Harper and her husband, Tony Cacciotti, hid her bout with lung cancer until it spread to her brain, forcing her to bail out of last year’s national tour of “Looped.” By the time 74-year-old Harper had been given just month to live by her doctors.

Lombardo claims that the woman and her husband were aware of her condition and its implications from the get-go, but failed to disclose it to the director. Harper and her husband “knowingly withheld the truth” about her cancer, the suit charges. Lombardo’s suit didn’t come out of thin air, in fact it’s a counter measure against Harper’s own suit, that came out before, alleging that the actress should still be paid for the part, because she dropped due to unforeseen health reasons.

Matthew Lombardo is suing Harper for $2 million.

In the production, Harper played Hollywood legend Tallulah Bankhead, a role that garnered her a 2010 Tony Award nomination. The suit (Lombardo’s) also alleges that the director’s initial decision was to go with Tovah Feldshuh for the part, but chose Harper when she insisted on taking the role.

More: Valerie Harper Faces Legal Fight After Failed Broadway Run

More: Valerie Harper's Cancer Close To Remission

When she left the play, Harper had been given just months to live.