Valerie Harper is asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit accusing her of hiding her terminal illness from producers of a play she backed out of last year.
The former “Rhoda” star, 74, claims playwright Matthew Lombardo is off base in alleging she withheld her brain cancer diagnosis when she agreed to reprise her role in the touring edition of “Looped” in 2012, reports TMZ.
Last week, the writer sued the actress for $2 million, claiming that she knew she was deathly ill well before dropping out of the production in March of last year.
But documents filed by the actress claim Lombardi found out about her cancer at the same time she did.
The playwright is suing over the inconvenience and behind-the-scenes drama that Harper allegedly caused by keeping quiet about her cancer. The lawsuit claims the last-minute scramble to find a replacement for the actress cost $500,000.
“Looped,” with Harper as its headliner, lasted for just 27 previews and 25 performances at the Lyceum Theater in 2010. Despite underwhelming at the box office, the play garnered its star a Tony nomination, which is why producers wanted to take the show on the road.
When she dropped out of the play, Harper said she had been told she only had months to live, but she has so far beaten the odds and even competed on last fall’s edition of “Dancing With the Stars.”
Last month the actress said that while her cancer hadn’t spread past her lungs or brain, she was far from cancer-free.
“I am still not cured. I am a cancer patient, and I continue to fight with the hope that a cure may be just around the corner,” Harper told Closer Weekly.