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Playboy columnist sues for sexual harassment
Posted Apr 1st 2009 1:50PM by Sarah Gilbert
Filed under: Management, Law, Scandals
While Playboy (NYSE: PLA) executives have never been accused of being straight-laced, one might assume they'd be smart enough, oh, to restrain themselves from groping, "bombarding" with sexually-explicit emails, and subsequently firing a lawyer.
But in allegations that (if true) would surely prove the preconception that the porn industry objectifies women, Chicago divorce attorney Corri Fetman filed suit Monday alleging that Thomas Hagopian, an executive in the digital branch of the publishing empire, sexually harassed her, then canceled her column when she rebuffed him. She seeks $4.5 million in damages, including "gender violence."
If this were the 70s, perhaps Hagopian would be claiming that Fetman gave him the wrong impression; after all, she posed nude and wrote a legal advice column, the 'Lawyer of Love.' And Fetman has a colorful history as an attorney; a billboard for her practice featured scantily-clad men and women with the slogan, "Life's Short, Get a Divorce" (it was pulled quickly), and she reportedly left her previous job in 1995 after being sexually harassed by another attorney. A woman with a history of giving off the wrong signals?
In the 21st century, we probably won't stand for this sort of thing, and I predict a quick time to settlement. However, in the court of public opinion (and, frankly, in her own personal marketing), Fetman's enormous breasts have already featured prominently. How can we take her seriously if . . . go the critics.
Playboy does appear to be taking this seriously; Hagopian left the company last year, and while a Playboy spokesperson didn't say why, she did say "we take these allegations very seriously."
Posted Apr 1st 2009 1:50PM by Sarah Gilbert
Filed under: Management, Law, Scandals
While Playboy (NYSE: PLA) executives have never been accused of being straight-laced, one might assume they'd be smart enough, oh, to restrain themselves from groping, "bombarding" with sexually-explicit emails, and subsequently firing a lawyer.
But in allegations that (if true) would surely prove the preconception that the porn industry objectifies women, Chicago divorce attorney Corri Fetman filed suit Monday alleging that Thomas Hagopian, an executive in the digital branch of the publishing empire, sexually harassed her, then canceled her column when she rebuffed him. She seeks $4.5 million in damages, including "gender violence."
If this were the 70s, perhaps Hagopian would be claiming that Fetman gave him the wrong impression; after all, she posed nude and wrote a legal advice column, the 'Lawyer of Love.' And Fetman has a colorful history as an attorney; a billboard for her practice featured scantily-clad men and women with the slogan, "Life's Short, Get a Divorce" (it was pulled quickly), and she reportedly left her previous job in 1995 after being sexually harassed by another attorney. A woman with a history of giving off the wrong signals?
In the 21st century, we probably won't stand for this sort of thing, and I predict a quick time to settlement. However, in the court of public opinion (and, frankly, in her own personal marketing), Fetman's enormous breasts have already featured prominently. How can we take her seriously if . . . go the critics.
Playboy does appear to be taking this seriously; Hagopian left the company last year, and while a Playboy spokesperson didn't say why, she did say "we take these allegations very seriously."
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