Medieval Times might seem like a fun place to work, but former employees allege that the dinner-theater chain is troubled by a culture of sexual harassment and horse abuse.
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Former Medieval Times Employees Say the Chain Has a "Knights Will Be Knights" Culture
The New York Post cites a Vanity Fair report on a labor dispute at Medieval Times. The company has 10 locations across North America and draws nearly 2.5 million visitors each year.
But the jousting and theatrics mask seamy behind-the-scenes working conditions. The report claims that new employees were subjected to hazing.
Sean Quigley, a former lord chancellor at the Lyndhurst, New Jersey, location, said there was a "knights will be knights" mindset. He also alleged that performers "would pull down their pants and wait for someone to come around the corner."
"There's like a whole pseudo-fraternity thing going on," added Purnell Thompson, a stable worker at the same location.
A former employee from the Scottsdale, Arizona, location told reporters that during his first two weeks on the job, he was forced to run in the sand until he threw up.
Female Workers Claim They Were Sexually Harassed
Former Medieval Times employees also claim workers often hooked up casually.
"Everybody dated everybody," said Kate Farrell, a former queen. "Things can get messy."
She said another knight pushed her up against her car and touched her genitals. Farrell sued Medieval Times earlier this year, alleging sexual harassment, retaliation, and gender discrimination.
In one instance, when a female worker reported harassment, a manager asked someone to remove stitching from her costume to create a wardrobe malfunction in front of an audience.
Additionally, Lexi-Lynn Taylor, a former queen at the Buena Park, California, location, said knights frequently harassed and touched her inappropriately. She added that one performer "wouldn't take no for an answer."
After kissing someone at a Christmas party, Taylor says she was slut-shamed. She also claimed she was called a "knight's mattress" and "ye old whore."
When an ex-employee at the Scottsdale location corroborated a female harassment report six years ago, the company relocated the suspect and gave him a raise.
Others Claim Horses Were Mistreated
Other employees state that trainers often abused the horses at Medieval Times.
An ex-stable hand alleged, "The horses would come back with visible raised welts on their hindquarters from whipping."
"I loved my job. But I couldn't stand by while they mistreated us and the animals," said former queen Erin Zapcic.
In 2022, Medieval Times employees at the Buena Park and Lyndhurst locations joined the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA), claiming poor wages and toxic workplace conditions. Workers at the Buena Park location went on strike in Feb. 2023.
"Every single day for nine months, thousands of people crossed our picket line and called us a**holes in the name of a two-hour show," said Zapcic.
Workers never secured a contract, and the AGVA reportedly ended the strike in 2024.
"The amount we were relentlessly harassed and retaliated against by our coworkers was awful," Zapcic said.
A National Labor Relations Board judge ruled in 2025 that Medieval Times violated federal labor law in its effort to defeat the strike. The company has appealed the ruling.
