While I have blogged before about the ridiculous sexism of American Apparel CEO and founder Dov Charney, I was hoping not to have to repeat myself. Unfortunately, aging hipster Charney has been sued—yet again—by a female employee.
Former product placement executive Jeneleen Floyd has sued 38-year-old Charney for screaming at her and demanding she “pretend to masturbate” in front of coworkers. Floyd declined, but a different employee simulated masturbation while Charney pretended to engage in an oral sex act with him. According to the lawsuit filed last week, Charney verbally castigated Floyd during off-work hours and demanded she work until midnight as retribution for her actions.
Floyd is just the newest member of a rapidly growing sorority, having filed the fifth suit against American Apparel for sexually explicit offenses. Though so far no one has had a jury trial against American Apparel, Charney has freely admitted he uses words like “slut” and “c*nt” around the office, saying that they’re not necessarily meant pejoratively: “some of us love sluts,” he said in a recent deposition. He’s also open about conducting meetings in his underwear and posting pornographic magazine images in his stores.
Sad to say, I will not be able to buy any candy-colored, American Apparel socks or t-shirts. I’d love to, since they’re made in the US and are sweat-shop free. But I just can’t understand why Charney can respect the women who work in his factories, but not the ones in his offices.
