Late to the story

Seven months after that sexual harassment lawsuit against the producers of "Friends" by fired writer's assistant Amaani Lyle began to be dissected, parodied and commented upon in the media and on the web, today's L.A. Times Column One treats the questions it raises about the bawdy atmosphere in TV writer rooms as a fresh story. The peg for getting into it now is that the case is before the state Supreme Court, so "represents a collision of sexual harassment law and the 1st Amendment's protection of free speech." The court agreed in July to decide whether Lyle should be allowed to sue for hearing sex jokes and other comments that offended her during the four months she took notes for the "Friends" writers in 1999.