- Kristin Chenoweth said that she regrets not suing CBS over an on-set injury filming "The Good Wife."
- In 2012, Chenoweth was struck by a piece of lighting equipment on set.
Kristin Chenoweth said that she wishes she had sued CBS after sustaining an injury on the set of "The Good Wife" in 2012.
Chenoweth left what was meant to be a multiepisode role on the CBS show following the injury in July 2012.
Last year, the Broadway star finally spoke about the details of the accident and its long-term impact in an essay for the book, "My Moment: 106 Women on Fighting for Themselves."
In an extract published by Marie Claire, Chenoweth wrote that she didn't speak out before because she didn't want to be seen as "weak" or "'a problem' for CBS."
Speaking on "Watch What Happens Live" on Monday, Chenoweth further said she didn't pursue legal action against CBS out of fear.
—WWHL (@BravoWWHL) January 17, 2023
"I didn't do it out of fear and anxiety. So, don't ever let fear rule your life," Chenoweth said. "I have long-standing injuries from that [accident] so I wish I had listened to my dad, who said, 'You're gonna want to do this.' And we're not the suing family, but when you're practically killed."
Chenoweth also recalled how the accident occurred while on location in Brooklyn, New York, and how her hair extensions saved her life.
"I heard, like, a flagpole sound. I literally heard, 'We're losing the light,' and I heard, 'Action' — and I woke up at Bellevue [hospital]," the actor said.
Chenoweth said she suffered cracked ribs, some of her teeth were broken, and she had a "7-inch skull fracture" as a result of the injury.
"It made the hairline fracture go together," the Tony-winning star added of her hair extensions. "My doctor said, 'What are these metal things,' and I said, 'They're hair extensions,' and he said, 'They saved your life.' So anybody who wants to get hair extensions should, for your health."
In her essay in "My Moment: 106 Women on Fighting for Themselves," Chenoweth claimed that CBS called the paparazzi to take photographs of her a few months after her accident to make it seem like she was fine.
"I wasn't doing great, but my sucking-it-up smile for a paparazzi photo was weaponized against me, and again, I felt intimidated," she wrote. "Not to mention, it's no secret that if we female celebrities dare not smile or are less than friendly when someone is snapping our photo in public, we'll be called particular names saved exclusively for us girls. It was all such a trap."
Chenoweth said that in the years after the accident, she has had to deal with "head-to-toe" pain on a "daily basis" and "hundreds of doctor appointments."