I knew it!

I knew it! Just recently I was in a couple of different discussions about American Apparel and how crazy it's getting with the pornographic advertising and how they post Penthouse in their store and stuff. When I read that Jane article a couple of years ago where the CEO, Dov Charney, masturbated in front of the reporter (apparently with her consent) I knew a sexual harassement suit couldn't be far behind. It actually took quite a while, but ol Dov's in hot water now, and deservedly so. Check this:

In his marketing, Charney has been adept at weaving his libertarian sexual attitude with his progressive labor practices. But it's another matter to make that attitude a bedrock principle of the workplace. In their sexual harassment suits, two of the women accuse Charney of exposing himself to them. One claims he invited her to masturbate with him and that he ran business meetings at his Los Angeles home wearing close to nothing. Another says he asked her to hire young women with whom he could have sex, Asians preferred. All describe him using foul language in their presence, much of it demeaning to women. Says Keith A. Fink, an attorney for one of the women suing: "The work environment there makes Animal House look like choir practice."

And they mention the article too:

The suits follow a bizarre article last year in the women's magazine Jane. Charney was described as engaging in oral sex with a female employee and masturbating in front of the reporter. Charney doesn't deny taking part in any of the activities described in the article. He says he befriended the writer over the course of the two months it took her to research the piece. "I've never done anything sexual that wasn't consensual," Charney says. The reporter, Claudine Ko, confirmed his take on events to BusinessWeek

Here's yet another juicy quote:

"It was a company built on lechery," says a former stock person. "I thought it was a male contemporary perspective on feminism, but it turns out to be just a gimmick," says another ex-employee. And another: "I made sure to stay away from the store when I knew [Charney] was coming into town. It's not one person -- he's aiming for all women."

Just check the whole article here, if you're interested:

http://www.businessweekasia.com/magazine/content/05_26/b3939108_mz017.htm

And, one more product endorsement, the American Apparel panties (I love that word, but I used to hate it. Panties! Panties!) are great, and can be purchased here.