After a season of upheaval and internal conflict, Outfest has been sued by its former executive director for defamation, harassment and discrimination.
Damien Navarro, in a lawsuit filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims he repeatedly warned Outfest’s board of directors, several of whom blamed him for its collapse, of the organization’s dire financial situation but that it refused to take action. He alleges that some board members engaged in a campaign to discredit and remove him as the head of the film festival in retaliation for raising concerns of discrimination.
“As the first person of color to lead Outfest, I expected a place of belonging and shared values,” Navarro says. “Instead, I encountered systemic racism, self-dealing, and retaliation that undermined not just my leadership but the very mission of the organization.”
In a statement, Outfest denied the “baseless and malicious claims.” It added, “Unfortunately, during Mr. Navarro’s leadership, the Outfest Board decided that it was in the organization’s best interest to bring in a new executive director. We remain committed to this decision as the best course of action for the organization and look forward to resolving this matter in legal proceedings.”
Outfest — the long-running Los Angeles LGTBQ film festival once seen as a fixture in the indie cinema circuit — collapsed last year when it laid off nearly all of its staff after some announced plans to unionize. Amid ongoing financial turbulence, it postponed the Legacy Awards, its marquee gala fundraiser that typically saw a series of high profile Hollywood talent honored. This coincided with Navarro, whose contract was not renewed last year, stepping aside for a leave of absence, which he tells The Hollywood Reporter was to allow for a “full, unbiased investigation” of concerns he raised of discrimination and harassment that he was allegedly subjected to by multiple board members.
In an email to donors sent in October, Outfest directors said the situation is “dire” while hinting at mismanagement.
“Recently the Board of Directors was forced to take over day to day operations of the organization and we discovered huge amounts of undisclosed debt that had been hidden from the Board,” the message said, before adding that “Outfest is in serious financial jeopardy and urgently needs to raise $750,000.”
In the lawsuit, Navarro argues the email defamed him by claiming that there were undisclosed debts hidden from the board, making him a “pariah in the industry.” He alleges that Outfest’s bleak financial picture started long before he started as executive director in 2019 and that he implored the board to address these issues several times, only to be made a “scape goat for [its] own malfeasance.”
The lawsuit says Navarro inherited an organization with over $250,000 in debt and years of declining membership and ticket sales, which was exacerbated by several unforeseen factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, increased costs due to new California labor laws and rising venue expenses. Within his first 18 months as head of Outfest, Navarro eliminated the debt and substantially increased revenue, he claims. Still, the organization faced a looming budget deficit (expected to reach $300,000 by March 2023) and cash flow issues that would necessitate staff layoffs, according to the complaint.
But the board elected to “undertake no action despite increasingly dire financial reports,” Navarro alleges. He points to leadership’s refusal to reduce the staff, allegedly to “avoid negative publicity” during the writers and actors strikes. At a March 2023 meeting, Navarro emphasized the budget crunch with reserves sufficient to cover payroll through May only to be ignored, the lawsuit claims. In a letter to the board he sent the next month, he wrote, “Outfest needs to manage its expenses carefully to meet its financial obligations,” according to the complaint.
“Navarro kept Board members updated about the organization’s finances at every step of the way – with the Board taking no action to shore up receipts or reduce expenses,” writes Rob Hennig, his lawyer, in the filing.
Board members’ duties to the organization include raising or donating at least $10,000 annually to Outfest. Navarro alleges the majority of the board “consistently failed” to meet this threshold, with board member Alexis Fish allegedly refusing to fundraise at all. Over the past two years, only 30 percent of the board met the minimum requirement, resulting in a budget shortfall of roughly $500,000, the lawsuit claims.
Additionally, the complaint details a series of clashes between Navarro and multiple board members over alleged harassment and discrimination. In 2022, he raised numerous concerns of Outfest’s allegedly discriminatory practices affecting Latinos, as well as one that included himself. This prompted board members, including Fish and Valerie Stadler— all of whom are named in the complaint — to initiate a “campaign of retaliation” aimed at undermining his leadership, the lawsuit claims. Some alleged examples: inciting staff against Navarro by spreading false rumors of his imminent termination, excluding him from board meetings and launching frivolous investigation into alleged improper behavior. This included a probe into his husband, who’s not a part of Outfest, allegedly flirting with an actor at an event and alleged discrimination by Navarro against female and Black staff members. Third party investigations into the incidents from the Fromholz firm found no fault, Navarro claims.
“The investigations against me was initiated in response to allegations that were unfounded and retaliatory in nature,” Navarro says. “The firm found no evidence of discriminatory treatment on my part.”
The lawsuit stresses that the board failed to investigate Navarro’s claims of discrimination or harassment.
Also detailed in the complaint are allegations of self-dealing by board members. Navarro says Fish repeatedly attempted to secure exhibitions of films she was directly involved with and had a financial stake in at Outfest, including a documentary about Susan Feniger despite her allegedly being employed as director of business development for the chef. In 2022, Stadler approached him to show a movie in which she was an executive producer at the opening night of Outfest. In response to the overtures, Navarro raised concerns about conflicts of interest.
In August 2023, the board voted not to renew Navarro’s contract as executive director “in a clear act of unlawful discrimination and retaliation,” the lawsuit alleges. He took a leave of absence in September, four months before his contract was set to expire.
Executive Director Christopher Racster is currently the only employee of the organization.
In December, the Los Angeles Times reported that Outfest’s collapse was largely due to mismanagement by Navarro. Responding to claims attributed to anonymous sources that he arranged without the board’s approval for the organization to pay for actor John Waters’ star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Navarro says that there was “never an unauthorized deal” and that the agreement was made “transparently with the board’s knowledge.”
He also denied allegations that he kept board members in the dark about the use of a $700,000 estate gift Outfest received. “All expenditures related to the grant were properly documented and reported, and the board was regularly updated on how the funds were being used,” he adds. “Any claims of misuse or lack of transparency are not true, as all financial decisions were made in alignment with Outfest’s mission and goals, with complete oversight from the finance committee.”
