Who Is Ijaaz Noohu? Amazon Criminal Lawsuit Explained

Ijaaz Noohu is a Sri Lankan American filmmaker and former production assistant on Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming crime series Criminal who filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in September 2026 accusing showrunner Ed Brubaker, executive producer Phillip Barnett, Amazon MGM and production company Big Indie of allowing a hostile and discriminatory workplace. Noohu alleges that Brubaker sexually harassed him, made racial and religious comments, repeatedly touched him without consent and at one point pointed a functional firearm directly at his face and pulled the trigger. He also alleges retaliation after he sought a promotion and complained about his treatment. Amazon MGM declined to comment when the lawsuit was first reported, while Brubaker and Big Indie did not publicly respond. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Who Is Ijaaz Noohu?

Noohu is a Sri Lankan American filmmaker who says he has worked in the entertainment industry for approximately 14 years. He joined the production of Criminal as a production assistant in February 2023. [ComingSoon]

Noohu is Muslim and says he was one of relatively few Muslim employees working on the production. His religion and ethnic background form part of the discrimination allegations in his lawsuit. [TheWrap]

Ijaaz Noohu Sues Amazon MGM And Ed Brubaker

Noohu filed a 12-claim lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in September 2026. The defendants include Big Indie Pictures, Big Indie Gemini Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Amazon.com Services LLC, Ed Brubaker and executive producer Phillip Barnett. [Court Records] [ComingSoon]

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial. Noohu asserts claims including sexual harassment, racial and national-origin harassment, religious discrimination, assault, battery and retaliation. [ComingSoon]

The case is a civil lawsuit rather than a criminal prosecution. None of the allegations has been established by a judge or jury.

Ed Brubaker Sexual Harassment Allegations

Noohu alleges that Brubaker subjected him to repeated sexual harassment while working on Criminal. The complaint accuses Brubaker of making comments about running his hands through Noohu’s hair and rubbing Noohu’s back without consent. [TheWrap]

Brubaker allegedly questioned Noohu about his private sex life. The lawsuit also accuses him of joking about rape in Noohu’s presence. [TheWrap]

Noohu characterizes the behavior as repeated and pervasive rather than an isolated exchange. Those descriptions come from his complaint and remain allegations. [AV Club]

Bikini Barista Prank Allegation

Noohu alleges that Brubaker deliberately sent him to a “bikini barista” coffee shop as a prank. The lawsuit says the women working at the establishment served coffee while wearing bathing suits. [TheWrap]

Noohu describes the incident as humiliating and part of the broader sexually charged environment he says Brubaker created. [TheWrap]

Racial And Ethnic Harassment Allegations

Noohu alleges that Brubaker repeatedly subjected him to stereotypes about South Asian people. The complaint references jokes or comments involving curry, the “Tiger Mom” stereotype, the Netflix series Never Have I Ever and assumptions about mathematical ability. [TheWrap]

Noohu says Brubaker repeatedly referred to him as Indian even though he is Sri Lankan American. The lawsuit alleges that Noohu’s actual background was known but that Brubaker continued using the inaccurate description. [TheWrap]

The lawsuit characterizes these comments as racial and national-origin harassment. No court has yet ruled on whether the alleged remarks occurred or whether they violated California employment law.

Muslim And Hamas Comments

Noohu also accuses Brubaker of religious harassment because he is Muslim. The complaint says Noohu was repeatedly questioned about whether he supported Hamas. [TheWrap] [ComingSoon]

The allegation is particularly significant because the comments allegedly focused on Noohu’s religion rather than his work on the production. His lawsuit treats the Hamas questioning as part of a pattern of religious discrimination.

Functional Firearm Allegation

The most serious physical allegation in the lawsuit is that Brubaker pointed a functional firearm directly at Noohu’s face and pulled the trigger. The complaint says the incident occurred during production and was witnessed by a senior producer. [TheWrap]

The complaint does not publicly provide extensive additional detail about what happened when the trigger was pulled. Reporting on the filing does not say that a projectile was discharged or that Noohu was physically wounded. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

Noohu’s attorney argues that the alleged firearm incident demonstrates the broader workplace culture he is challenging. The complaint says allowing a supervisor with authority over the production to engage in such conduct without consequences reflected a culture of impunity. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

The firearm allegation has not been proven in court.

Executive Producer Phillip Barnett Accused Of Ignoring Complaints

Executive producer Phillip Barnett is separately named as a defendant. Noohu alleges that Barnett knew about problematic conduct but failed to intervene. [ComingSoon]

The complaint alleges that Barnett discouraged people from documenting complaints. Noohu says Barnett responded to workplace concerns with comments including “Don’t say that in front of me” and “La la, I’m not hearing that.” [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

Those statements are allegations attributed to Barnett in the lawsuit. Barnett had not publicly responded to them when the first reports were published.

Amazon MGM Accused Of Allowing Hostile Work Environment

Noohu’s lawsuit argues that responsibility extends beyond Brubaker personally. He accuses Amazon MGM and Big Indie of failing to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment and discrimination on the Criminal production. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

The complaint alleges that the conduct occurred openly and was witnessed by multiple people, including senior producers. Noohu argues that the corporate defendants therefore knew or should have known about the alleged workplace problems. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

Amazon MGM declined to comment when the lawsuit was reported. Big Indie did not respond to a request for comment, and Brubaker also did not publicly respond. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

Retaliation Allegations

Noohu alleges that his employment situation deteriorated after he sought a promotion. According to the complaint, his planned exit date from the production was moved forward. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

He says he was later barred from the set after challenging the alleged misconduct. Noohu characterizes that treatment as retaliation. [TheWrap]

His employment ended in September 2024. The complaint also says he did not receive a production credit for Criminal. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

Noohu Says He Was Denied Credit

Noohu alleges that his name was ultimately omitted from the production credits. He includes the loss of credit among the consequences he says followed his workplace complaints and early departure. [ComingSoon]

Whether the absence of a credit was retaliatory is disputed and has not been adjudicated.

What Is Criminal?

Criminal is an upcoming Prime Video crime-drama series based on the comic-book franchise created by Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips. Amazon MGM gave the project a formal series order in 2024. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

The series follows an interconnected collection of criminals and crime stories rather than a single conventional protagonist. The comics have been published since 2006 and are among Brubaker and Phillips’ best-known creator-owned works.

The television cast includes Charlie Hunnam, Emilia Clarke, Richard Jenkins, Luke Evans and John Hawkes. [ComingSoon]

Amazon had not announced a premiere date when the lawsuit became public.

Who Is Ed Brubaker?

Brubaker is an acclaimed comic-book writer and television producer. He has written extensively for Marvel and DC Comics, including major runs on Captain America, Batman and Catwoman. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

Brubaker co-created the Winter Soldier version of Bucky Barnes for Marvel. The character subsequently became a major part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

His television credits include work on Westworld, Too Old to Die Young and Batman: Caped Crusader. Criminal is his first television project serving as showrunner. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

Lawsuit Includes 12 Claims

Noohu’s complaint contains 12 causes of action. Reporting on the filing identifies claims involving sexual harassment and hostile work environment, racial and national-origin harassment, religious discrimination, retaliation, assault and battery. [ComingSoon]

Attorney Fahim Rahman represents Noohu. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and asks for a jury trial. [ComingSoon]

Amazon And Brubaker Have Not Responded Substantively

Amazon MGM declined to comment when major outlets first reported the lawsuit. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

Brubaker did not respond to requests for comment cited in the initial reporting. Big Indie likewise did not provide a public response. [Yahoo/The Hollywood Reporter]

No answer to the lawsuit or judicial ruling on the allegations had been publicly reported as of September 4, 2026. The case is therefore at an early stage and Noohu’s allegations remain contested claims rather than established findings.