American Apparel founder Dov Charney, who left after a string of sexual harassment allegations from his own employees, had a strange response when asked if he was having sex with workers at his new clothing company, Los Angeles Apparel.
“That question is private, and it should be private,” Charney said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg when asked if he was “going down the same path at Los Angeles Apparel and hooking up with employees.”
The interviewer then asked if Charney was being “more careful” at his new company. “You always have to be cautious in the lawsuit society that we’re in, you know. … I love the company, and I love the people I work with,” he responded.
“We’re very close and we’re holding hands and walking through the fire. We intend to be successful,” Charney added.
Charney was never charged or convicted for the sexual harassment claims brought against him, which included allegations from American Apparel board members that he kept kept graphic photographs of him having sex with staff members on company computers.
The company did end up settling cases with four models who claimed that Charney had either harassed or sexually assaulted them. Two models settled for $3.4 million dollars — the others’ were confidential.
Shortly after Charney left, American Apparel accused him of violating policies on harassment and retaliation against former employees.
“The company discovered voluminous evidence of Mr. Charney’s sexual liaisons with employees and models,” American Apparel said in court papers.