Hunter Tylo with Gloria Allred after she was awarded $5 Million for emotional distress and economic loss
Back in 1996, Aaron Spelling was riding high on the successes of Melrose Place and Beverly Hills, 90210 and likely thought he could get away with anything, even if that meant firing an actress from Melrose for getting pregnant. What Spelling didn’t know was that he would face the wrath of Allred for doing so. Hunter Tylo had left her role on The Bold and The Beautiful to join Melrose, but didn’t even get to film one episode before Spelling fired her for announcing her pregnancy, arguing that Tylo’s pregnancy rendered her unable to play the character, who was supposed to be a sexy seductress. Tylo hired Allred and sued Spelling on grounds of discrimination. Allred helped Tylo win $4.8 million from a Los Angeles jury. The case is widely recognized as an important one in establishing the right of actresses to continue to work while pregnant.