former 'Simpsons' composer Alf Clausen sues FOX for age discrimination

Former Simpsons composer Alf Clausen, who said he was fired from the show by FOX in 2017, has sued the network, claiming he was let go due to his age. (He’s 78.) The claim says that FOX told him at the time the series was “taking the music in a different direction” but “the reason was pretextual and false” and “Instead, Plaintiff’s unlawful termination was due to perceived disability and age.” The suit also says his replacement “was substantially younger in age, who was not only paid less, but was not disabled.” The suit, which names Fox, Disney, and James L. Brooks’ Gracie Films as defendants, does not specify Clausen’s disability.

Clausen, who worked on The Simpsons for 27 years and scored over 560 episodes, was replaced by Bleeding Fingers Music, a music production company co-founded by Russell Emanuel, Hans Zimmer and Steve Kofsky.