Dov Charney Fired As American Apparel’s CEO Amidst Allegations of Sexual Improprieties
Embattled American Apparel CEO Dov Charney has been stripped of his chairmanship of the board and placed on suspension without pay for 30 days pending termination from the company. According to the New York Post, the board took action to terminate Charney during its Wednesday meeting in light of new information in which Charney is accused of exposing American Apparel to significant liability and damages.
The charges stem from a lawsuit in 2012 when former American Apparel employee Irene Morales accused Dov Charney of making her into his sex slave. Morales initially sued Charney for damages in the sum of $260.00 million but the case was thrown out of court in 2012 by a Brooklyn judge after the New York Post brought to light the fact that Morales sent dozens of nude photos of herself to Charney even after she stopped working at American Apparel and accompanied many of the photos with risqué messages like “Daddy’s got a little naughty girl waiting for him” as disclosed by Charney’s lawyer Stuart Slotnick. The New York Post further tells us that a settlement for the case is currently in the works, reportedly in the low six figure range and no where close to the original $260.00 million sought by Morales.
Despite the Morales case being thrown out of court, Charney brought the past back to haunt him, when as revealed by Mail Online, he allowed a female employee at one of his Los Angeles area stores to launch a blog in which the employee impersonated his alleged victim, Irene Morales, and posted naked photos of Morales accompanied by adult oriented text. Charney further drew the ire of American Apparel’s board when additional video, which was posted on viddme.com, came to light showing a naked Dov Charney dancing in front of two female employees. The video can be viewed at The Inquisitr. In the video, Dov Charney is seen dancing naked while on his mobile phone. He tells the person on the other end of the phone “I’m dancing right now for Daisy.” One of the females present at the nude “performance” is also heard telling Charney to shake his booty before Charney moves off camera and the adult presentation comes to an end.
Dov Charney has a long colorful history at American Apparel. Among other instances, he has previously drawn negative attention from the board for walking around his U.S. factory floor without pants, exposing his underwear. In addition to that “liberating” experience, he has also been under investigation by the board for financial improprieties such as using company funds to set up travel arrangements for his mother.
Dov Charney founded American Apparel in 1989 when he was a student. Since then, the company has grown into a global powerhouse with 10,000 employees and 249 stores in 20 countries. Suffice it to say, Dov Charney will no longer be at the helm of his fashion empire. American Apparel’s board clearly feels as though it will face much less liability and negative attention without him.
