Bill Nye is suing Disney claiming it withheld $28 million in profits from his science show

Bill Nye Jason Kempin Getty final

Bill Nye has spent the last decade trying to figure out Disney accounting and now he's finally had enough.

On Thursday, the man behind "The Science Guy" TV show filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging that the studio owes him $28 million in profits from distribution of "Bill Nye the Science Guy."

According to the lawsuit, Nye has been suspicious of Disney's books since 2008, when Disney informed him that he owed the company close to $500,000 due to an "accounting error."

“The disturbing size of the supposed ‘accounting error,’ coupled with the seeming indifference of both (Buena Vista Television) and (the Walt Disney Company), left Mr. Nye suspicious of the veracity of the accounting statements he had been receiving from BVT over the years,” the suit states.

In 2008, after Nye sent his annual profit participation to the company, which amounted to $585,123, the company said it had made an accounting error and requested that he return $496,111, according to the suit.

Nye hired a lawyer and attempted to audit Disney's statements. However, that turned out to be a frustrating endeavor. The company allegedly said it was backlogged with audits and would not be able to get to Nye's for three or four years. Once Disney did, the company withheld documents, or said it would produce documents and then didn't, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit alleges Disney owes Nye and the other owners of the show $28 million.

Nye and two producers launched "Bill Nye the Science Guy" in 1992, in partnership with KCTS, the Seattle PBS affiliate. The following year, Nye and the producers landed a distribution deal with Disney.

Business Insider contacted Disney for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

See the lawsuit filed below:

Bill Nye by gmaddaus on Scribd

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