Brooke Shields is calling out “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone over what she describes as a “disheartening” dispute between staff and management at the Colorado restaurant co-owned by the two men. In an interview with CNN published over the weekend, Shields revealed she used a fake name when she visited Casa Bonita in March to deliver a letter asking for better wages and improved safety conditions for the restaurant’s live performers.
“The place is so big it took a while for management to realize we were there,” the “Suddenly Susan” actor told the outlet. “And then word got out because, you know, I didn’t have a hat on and mustache or anything.” She went on to note: “It was slightly an ambush… you try doing things respectfully, and then you’re not met with equal respect… so you have to resort to other tactics.”
Union President Takes Action
Shields, who currently stars in the Acorn TV series “You’re Killing Me,” serves as the president of the Actors’ Equity Association. Since 2024, the union has represented about 80 of Casa Bonita’s performers, including cliff divers, costumed characters, and magicians. According to the report, the union has filed at least seven labor complaints against the restaurant with the National Labor Relations Board for “retaliation and refusal to bargain.”
Shields also told CNN those performers are paid about $10 less than the restaurant’s servers, who also receive tips. They also lack appropriate security despite being asked to engage with patrons, she added. “It’s just so disheartening because they’re putting their lives at risk, and they’re not being looked after,” she explained. While she said Parker and Stone have frequented the restaurant, they have not attended one of the 14 bargaining sessions with Actors’ Equity: “It’s just silence, radio silence.”
Background on Casa Bonita
Casa Bonita is located in Lakewood, Colorado, about five miles west of downtown Denver. It first opened in 1974 as part of a chain of Mexican restaurants that also featured live entertainment. Parker and Stone, who co-created the Broadway musical “The Book of Mormon,” saved Casa Bonita from bankruptcy when they bought it for a reported $3.1 million in 2021. The pair had previously immortalized their love for the restaurant on a 2003 episode of “South Park,” and earlier this year, claimed they’ve invested about $50 million in renovating the eatery.
“It had become a joke, and we were sad that it had become a joke,” Parker told NBC’s “Today” in 2023. “You could see what this place was in the ’70s, when they built it. They were trying to make a little Disneyland here.”
No Public Response Yet
Parker and Stone, who recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of “The Book of Mormon” in New York, have not commented publicly on Shields’ remarks. A representative for the pair did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment. In a statement, Casa Bonita’s management told CNN they “value all of our team members and their well-being,” noting: “As a policy we do not comment on ongoing labor negotiations.”
Shields' Personal Investment
Elsewhere in her chat with CNN, Shields pointed to her background as a Broadway performer while explaining why she felt so invested in the situation at Casa Bonita. “It doesn’t take long to feel how disparaging it is when you visit a place and you see young people excited to perform at the top of their game doing these crazy stunts, or entertaining people,” she said. “[And] you go personally see them not being cared for.”
