Four more former American Apparel employees have filed a lawsuit against CEO Dov Charney, the New York Times reports.
Kimbra Lo, Alyssa Ferguson, Marissa Wilson and Tesa Lubans-Dehaven are all named in the Los Angeles Superior Court documents -- although only Lo's complaint has been made public. The 19-year-old says she visited Charney's home last December, seven months after she quit her job as an American Apparel sales associate, to talk about being rehired as a model and photographer.
Ms. Lo claimed that Mr. Charney, wrapped in a towel, invited her to his bedroom to talk about a job. Once there, she said he undressed her and tried to have sex. Ms. Lo said she sought to resist but was afraid, and that he tried to take photographs.
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Ms. Lo said that after the December meeting she called her mother who, in turn, called Mr. Charney and "demanded he never contact her daughter again." Ms. Lo said she contacted Mr. Charney to demand an apology.
Charney's lawyer Peter Schey told the Times, "The allegations are false. I think this is an effort to shake down American Apparel."
If so, it's quite the elaborate, and coincidental, effort.
Earlier this month, another former American Apparel employee, Irene Morales, filed a $250 lawsuit in Brooklyn Supreme Court after "enduring eight anguished months of forced sex," according to the New York Daily News. Morales appeared on "The Today Show" to talk about the circumstances, explaining "I thought it was almost normal. I thought everyone in the retail or fashion industry had to go through something similar to that. But I didn't think anything else of it."
But the most disturbing bits from the "Today" segment were from Charney's sworn depositions from previous sexual harassment suits against him, none of which went to trial. In his own words: "I frequently drop my pants to show people my new product," and "There's some of us that love sluts. It could be also an endearing term."
There's no word yet on how much Lo is seeking in damages.