Former Medieval Times workers claim the iconic dinner-theater chain is plagued by a frat-like, “knights will be knights” culture of sexual harassment and horse abuse, according to a bombshell report.
The company, which operates 10 “castles” across North America and draws roughly 2.5 million guests annually, became the center of a bitter labor dispute after employees sounded the alarm about seedy working conditions, Vanity Fair reported.
Staff at multiple castles — including the Lyndhurst, New Jersey, kingdom — said they encountered a locker-room culture resembling a fraternity, where new hires were subjected to hazing, according to the outlet.
“There’s like a whole pseudo-fraternity thing going on, ” said Purnell Thompson, who spent years working in the stables at the Garden State location.
Sean Quigley, an ex-lord chancellor at Lyndhurst who shared a locker room with the all-male staff of knights, claimed the performers “would pull down their pants and wait for someone to come around the corner.”
Quigley added there was a “knights will be knights” attitude.
A former employee at the Scottsdale, Arizona, castle told the outlet he was forced to run in the sand until he vomited for his first two weeks on the job.
The macho culture also allegedly extended across the castle, where female workers claimed they were incessantly harassed.
Lexi-Lynn Taylor — a onetime queen at the Buena Park, California, castle — said many of the knights harassed and inappropriately touched her, including one performer who “wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
The castle was also a haven for casual hookups that often turned messy, the staffers claimed.
“Everybody dated everybody,” said former queen Kate Farrell. “Things can get messy.”
After sharing a kiss at a Christmas party, Taylor was slut-shamed and called a “knight’s mattress” and “ye old whore,” she claimed.
Another knight “pushed me up against my car and pressed his hand on my crotch,” said Farrell, who sued Medieval Times this year over allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation and gender discrimination.
In one example, after a female worker reported harassment, a manager asked a subordinate to remove stitching from her costumes to create “wardrobe malfunctions in front of live audiences.”
A former Scottsdale employee said he corroborated a female coworker’s harassment report in 2020, but instead of disciplining the culprit, Medieval Times relocated him to another department and boosted his pay.
“On multiple occasions, I watched instances of poor behavior almost be rewarded,” the ex-employee said.
The situation in the horse stables didn’t appear much better, where former workers said the animals were often mistreated by trainers.
“I loved my job. But I couldn’t stand by while they mistreated us and the animals,” said Erin Zapcic, a former queen who worked at the Buena Park location.
Sidney Setzer, an ex-stable hand, claimed “the horses would come back with visible raised welts on their hindquarters from whipping.” She quit the job over physical exhaustion, she said.
Another former cast member, Bethany Regan, alleged in a 2109 lawsuit that a trainer whipped horses unnecessarily, causing injuries and contributed directly to one’s death. That case was settled out of court in 2020, the outlet reported.
Tensions spilled over in 2022 as the workers at Buena Park and Lyndhurst both organized unions over poor wages and toxic workplace conditions — before joining the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA).
The Buena Park Medieval Times employees went on strike in February 2023, launching a nine-month standoff — while the company flew in performers from other castles to replace the on-strike staff.
“Every single day for nine months, thousands of people crossed our picket line and called us assholes in the name of a two-hour show,” said Zapcic.
Employees eventually returned in November 2023, though some claimed they faced hostility and had their roles changed.
“The amount we were relentlessly harassed and retaliated against by our coworkers was awful,” Zapcic said.
The Buena Park union never secured a contract, and the AGVA reportedly stepped away from the effort in 2024.
The following year, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled that Medieval Times had violated federal labor law in its efforts to defeat the union campaign. The company has since appealed the ruling.
Medieval Times did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
