Tag Archives: inappropriate

‘They Knew It Was Inappropriate’

Elle Magazine Party For Author Danny Seo – Credit: Evan Agostini/ImageDirect/Getty Images

The anonymous woman who accused Horatio Sanz of sexual assault last year further claimed that the comedian groomed her in front of his fellow Saturday Night Live cast members.

In a new interview with The Daily Beast, Jane Doe — who named Sanz, NBC, SNL, and 20 unnamed members of the show’s cast in the lawsuit — shared more details about the alleged abuse and how no one did anything to stop it. Two of Doe’s friends also spoke to The Daily Beast, corroborating the nature of her relationship with Sanz, with one adding that they witnessed the alleged grooming at SNL parties.

More from Rolling Stone

“Horatio certainly is the main character here, but he didn’t abuse me in a vacuum; he abused me all over Saturday Night Live,” Doe said.

Doe detailed how she was allowed to attend parties and afterparties with the SNL cast when she was a teenager and claimed that Sanz would often treat her as his partner in front of his fellow comedians, including Jimmy Fallon. (Doe’s relationship with the SNL cast began after she started a fanpage for Fallon, Sanz, and SNL.)

“[They] were definitely cuddly and arms around each other,” said one of Doe’s friends, who attended a party with Doe and was given the pseudonym Katherine. “And for all intents and purposes, as an outsider, as a 17-year-old, and from me and Jane talking, they were a couple to me… They were dating in some capacity, and I’m like, ‘Look at how cool Jane is for dating this older guy.’ “

Katherine also told the outlet that a high-profile cast member “began rubbing her leg and called her beautiful” at a different party. “I look back now and I’m like, ‘Why would any famous person entertain us?’” Katherine said. “‘Why would they even give us the time of day?’ And it’s because they were predatory.”

She added, “I will say that they knew what they were doing. They knew it was inappropriate. Thirty-some, 40-some-year-old men know that I look nothing… I looked like a baby at 17.”

As for Fallon, Doe told the outlet that he gave her advice for the SATs and suggested colleges she could attend. Similarly, Doe’s lawsuit alleged that during a party, Fallon said, “So you have a few years before you graduate” after she revealed she was in high school.

“I don’t know how many people knew that Horatio was sexting me regularly,” Doe said. “I don’t know how much of our conversations happened when he was in his office at NBC, which he shared with Jimmy Fallon. But I know that I deserve to know.”

Doe also alleged that at SNL‘s Season 27 finale party — days after Sanz allegedly digitally penetrated her without consent — Sanz told her, “Jimmy [Fallon] doesn’t care if you’re a slut.”

Several days later, Doe shut down her SNL fansite. At the time, she said, she was already feeling isolated from her peers, a sensation that only deepened as she moved on to college and realized she couldn’t openly discuss a major part of her life in high school.

“Horatio had sort of set me up to only trust him, and only rely on him, and internalize all the shame, and internalize all the secrecy, and not tell anyone what was going on with me,” Jane said, adding that she began doing drugs during college. (She was later hospitalized because of her drug use.

When reached for comment a spokesperson for NBC told Rolling Stone that “they cannot comment on legal matters.”

Sanz’s lawyer Andrew Brettler also did not respond to RS‘s request for comment. He previously said: “This individual’s claims about Horatio Sanz are categorically false. However often she repeats her ludicrous allegations or tries to rope in other high-profile names to generate media attention, they will always be false. Before filing this lawsuit anonymously, she demanded $7.5 million in exchange for her silence. We, of course, refused and will vigorously contest these totally meritless claims.”

The 2021 lawsuit includes text message exchanges between the two dating as recently as 2019, where the comedian said he was “very sorry” about what happened. “If you want to metoo me you have every right,” he wrote Doe.

Best of Rolling Stone

Click here to read the full article.

Read original article here

Zoe Lister-Jones accuses Chris Noth of “sexually inappropriate” behavior

Zoe Lister-Jones
Photo: Michael Loccisano (Getty Images)

Zoe Lister-Jones shared her own allegations of inappropriate behavior from Chris Noth hours after the Sex And The City actor was accused of sexual assault by two other women.

In an Instagram post, Lister-Jones wrote:

Last week, my friend asked me how I felt about Mr. Big’s death on And Just Like That…, and I said, honestly, I felt relieved. He asked why and I told him it was because I couldn’t separate the actor from the man, and the man is a sexual predator. My friend was alarmed at my word choice. And to be honest so was I. I hadn’t thought of this man for so many years, and yet there was a virility to my language that came from somewhere deep and buried.

In my twenties I worked at a club in NY that Chris Noth owned and on the few occasions he would show up, he was consistently sexually inappropriate with a fellow female promoter. That same year, I was a guest star on Law And Order and it was his first episode returning as a detective after SATC.

He was drunk on set. During my interrogation scene he had a 22 oz. of beer under the table that he would drink in between takes. In one take he got close to me, sniffed my neck, and whispered, “You smell good.” I didn’t say anything. My friend at the club never said anything. It’s so rare that we do.

Noth was accused of sexual assault by two women who each shared their allegations with The Hollywood Reporter. According to the publication, their alleged assaults occurred more than a decade apart. The first woman said she met Noth in 2004 when she was 22 years old and working at a high-profile firm.

She alleged that Noth got her phone number from the directory and invited her to his West Hollywood apartment. She’d decided to take two friends with her, but Noth asked her to drop off a book he’d lent her at his apartment. According to the woman, while at his residence, Noth kissed her and then proceeded to sexually assault her.

The other woman who came forward said she’d met Noth while working as a server in the VIP section of a nightclub. He asked her to dinner, but when she got to the restaurant, the kitchen had closed, so they had drinks. After drinks, he invited her to his apartment where, she alleged, he “pretty forcibly” had sex with her.

In a statement, Noth told THR, “The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago—no always means no—that is a line I did not cross. The encounters were consensual. It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women.”



Read original article here

Zoe Lister-Jones claims that Chris Noth was ‘sexually inappropriate’ to women at NYC club

A former guest star on Law and Order: Criminal Intent has added her name to the growing chorus of women accusing actor Chris Noth of sexual misconduct.

In an Instagram story on Thursday, actress Zoe Lister-Jones detailed her encounters with the embattled actor, claiming that he was ‘sexually inappropriate’ to women who worked at a New York City club he owned, and sniffed her neck while drunk on set of the detective show.

Her allegations come just hours after The Hollywood Reporter published two other women’s claimed he raped and sexually abused them.

Since then, a newspaper clipping has also emerged featuring claims by model Beverly Johnson who claims that Noth had attacked her and threatened to kill her while they were dating in the 1990s. 

The Los Angeles Police Department has now said they are not investigating the Sex and the City star ‘at this point’ on claims he raped a woman in his LA apartment in 2004, as Noth, 67, vehemently denied all allegations of sexual abuse.

Noth admitted to having ‘consensual encounters’ with the two accusers mentioned in the Hollywood Reporter story but strongly denied any abuse. 

DailyMail.com has reached out Noth for further comment.  

Zoe Lister-Jones, left, has claimed that actor Chris Noth was ‘sexually inappropriate’ to female workers at a club he owned in New York City and once sniffed her neck as she guest starred on an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent in 2005. Noth, right, has vehemently denied the claims of sexual abuse

Noth returned to his role as Detective Mike Logan following the original run of Sex and the City

In her Instagram story on Thursday, Lister-Jones said she was ‘relieved’ by the death of Chris Noth’s character on And Just Like That because she remembers him being ‘consistently sexually inappropriate’ with a female promoter and sniffing her hair when she guest starred on Law and Order: Criminal Intent

Lister-Jones, 39, became the first woman to publicly call out Noth for alleged sexually inappropriate behavior in her Instagram story Thursday night.

She wrote that she was inspired to come out with her story after the two women – who used the pseudonyms Zoe, now 40, and Lily, now 31 – told The Hollywood Reporter their stories.

The actress known for her work on Life in Pieces began her statement: ‘Last week, my friend asked me how I felt about Mr. Big’s death on And Just Like That, and I said honestly, I felt relieved,’ she wrote, referring to Noth’s role on Sex and the City and its spin-off.

‘He asked why, and I told him it was because I couldn’t separate the actor from the man, and the man is a sexual predator. 

‘My friend was alarmed at my word choice. And to be honest, so was I.

An old newspaper clipping posted to Instagram on Thursday appeared to show court documents accused Noth of ‘battering’ model Beverly Johnson back when they were dating

‘I hadn’t thought of the man in so many years, and yet there was a virility to my language that came from somewhere deep and buried.’

Lister-Jones then explained: ‘In my twenties, I worked at a club in New York that Chris Noth owned and on the few occasions, he would show up, he was consistently sexually inappropriate with a fellow female promoter.’ 

‘That same year, I was a guest star on Law and Order, and it was his first episode returning as a detective after “SATC,”‘ 

‘He was drunk on set,’ she alleged in her statement, noting: ‘During my interrogation scene he had a 22 ounce beer under the table that he would drink in between takes.

‘In one take, he got close to me, sniffed my neck and whispered, “You smell good.”

‘I didn’t say anything. My friend at the club never said anything. It’s so rare that we do.’

Noth’s most famous role is as Carrie Bradshaw’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) love interest John James ‘Mr. Big’ Preston on Sex and the City and now its spin-off

She claimed that her experiences were small in comparison to the other allegations against Noth that were reported on Thursday

She concluded her statement by cursing out Noth’s character on Sex and the City, claiming that he capitalized on the role to seduce women

‘Part of being a woman in this world is taking a certain amount of pride in knowing how to handle yourself in these situations,’ she continued. 

‘In denying their impact as a means of survival. And burying the feelings that come with the transgressions that we have been taught are simply to be expected.

‘My experiences are small in comparison to the accounts of assault that have so bravely been shared today.

‘Navigating predation at any level is a burden all woman have to bear. And for the most part there is no accountability and no consequence.

‘Chris Noth capitalized on the fantasy that women believe Mr. Big represented,’ she alleged, concluding: ‘F*** Mr. Big.’ 

Lister-Jones guest starred on Law and Order: Criminal Intent in 2005, the first year Noth returned to the series following the original run of Sex and the City, in an episode entitled Diamond Dogs.  

It was unclear which club she claims Noth was ‘sexually inappropriate’ at. According to Page Six, Noth co-owns The Cutting Room in Manhattan and was an investor in The Plumm, which closed in 2009.   

The sexual misconduct allegations against Noth emerged after the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That, returned to HBO.

It does not appear that any of his Sex and the City costars have commented on the allegations.

In fact, Kristin Davis, who plays Charlotte, failed to mention them entirely when she appeared on the Late Late Show on Thursday. 

Host James Corden also decided to avoid the issue. When he asked her how she feels about the spin-off, to which she simply replied, ‘good.’ 

Lister-Jones’ apparent confession comes after The Hollywood Reporter published other allegations against Noth.

Both of the accusers in the report claimed that Noth had sex with them from behind in front of a mirror, with the first attack allegedly taking place in 2004, while the second reportedly occurred in 2015, three years after Noth married his wife, Tara Wilson, with whom he has two children. 

The two women both also allege that the attacks took place in one of Noth’s homes – the first in his Los Angeles apartment and the second in his New York City property – after the actor invited them over. 

Both women claim that the recent publicity surrounding the Sex and the City reboot – And Just Like That – ‘stirred painful memories’ of their encounters with Noth, who has featured heavily in the news in the past week as a result of the shock death of his character, Mr. Big, in the first episode of the new series.   

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Noth, who has two sons with Wilson – Keats and Orion – admitted that he had ‘consensual encounters’ with the two women in the Hollywood Reporter story, both of which reportedly took place while he was in a relationship with his wife, but he strongly denied any accusations that he assaulted them. 

‘The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false,’ the statement reads. 

‘These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross. The encounters were consensual. 

‘It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women.’ 

Married Sex And The City star Chris Noth – pictured with his wife Tara Wilson this month – has also been accused of rape and sexual assault by two other women 

Noth has two sons with Wilson – Orion (left), 13, who was born in 2008, seven years before the alleged second attack took place, and Keats (right), one, who was born in 2020

One of the accusers – using the pseudonym Zoe – said she first met Noth while working ‘in an entry-level position at a high-profile firm where Noth and other celebrities regularly had business’ in 2004. 

She claims that the actor – who was then at the height of his Sex and the City fame and, according to Zoe’s then-boss was seen as a ‘god’ by her and colleagues – began flirting with her in the office. 

‘It was very painful and I yelled out, “Stop!”‘ Noth’s alleged first victim says actor left her bleeding after attack in his LA home

Noth’s first accuser – Zoe, now 40 – claims that the actor invited her to his Los Angeles apartment to return a book in 2004, before raping her from behind. 

She claims that he ‘kissed her as she stepped through the door’ and that she ‘tentatively kissed him back’ before trying to leave his home. 

Zoe alleges that the actor then ‘pulled her toward him, moved her toward the bed, pulled off her shorts and bikini bottom, and began to rape her from behind’ while they were ‘facing a mirror’. 

‘It was very painful and I yelled out, “Stop!”‘ she claims. ‘And he didn’t. I said, “Can you at least get a condom?” and he laughed at me.’ 

Following the alleged incident, Zoe says she saw ‘blood on her shirt’ and returned to a friend’s apartment, which was located in the same building as Noth’s home, to try and wash it out. 

It was there that her friends urged her to go to hospital – where she says she had to get stitches. 

‘I had stitches. Two police officers came. I wouldn’t say who it was,’ she says, claiming that she feared she would ‘not be believed’ and could ‘be fired’ if she publicly accused Noth of rape.

At the time, Noth had been dating his now-wife Wilson for three years; the pair began their relationship in 2001 after first meeting at The Cutting Room, a New York jazz club owned by the actor, where Wilson, who was in her early 20s at the time, worked as a bartender. 

However, according to Zoe, the actor began leaving ‘flirty’ messages on her voicemail – which her boss alerted her to. 

Speaking to THR, the boss confirmed that she was aware of the messages, saying that it struck her as strange that the actor would be reaching out to her much younger employee, however she insists she was not in any way concerned by them. 

Zoe claims that she was raped by Noth in his West Hollywood apartment when she was just 22 and he was 49 – alleging that the actor invited her and a friend over to the pool at his building. Her unnamed friend confirmed that the two visited the pool and recalled that they sat in the jacuzzi with Noth, who then left a book with Zoe while he went to his apartment to take a call.  

She states that Noth then asked her to return the book to his home, telling her that he’d ‘love to know what she thought’. 

When Zoe went up to his home to give the book back, she says Noth ‘kissed her’ as soon as she walked through the door, however she says she was not initially concerned by the kiss – and in fact thought it would be a ‘funny story’ she could tell her friends about. 

However, she says Noth then pulled her towards him, moved her to his bed and removed her shorts and bikini bottoms, before raping her ‘from behind’ while they were ‘facing a mirror’.   

She also claimed that the actor did not use protection, that he ‘laughed at her’ when she asked him to get a condom – and says she was left bleeding after the assault, and had to go to the hospital to get stitches.  

‘It was very painful and I yelled out, “Stop!”‘ she told THR. ‘And he didn’t. I said, “Can you at least get a condom?” and he laughed at me.’  

After the alleged assault, she says she returned to a friend’s apartment, which was located in the same building as Noth’s home, and tried to wash the blood out of her shirt, before being urged by her friends to go to Cedars-Sinai, where she told hospital workers that she had been assaulted.  

‘I had stitches. Two police officers came. I wouldn’t say who it was,’ she says, claiming that she feared she would ‘not be believed’ and could ‘be fired’ if she publicly accused Noth of rape.  

Although Zoe has not previously accused Noth of assault or rape, she says did speak to several people about the attack – including her boss at the time, who told THR that Zoe phoned her after the alleged rape and told her Noth had attacked her. 

Speaking to the outlet, Zoe’s now-former boss said that her ex-employee sounded ‘upset’ and was ‘in shock’ during the phone call while relaying details of the ‘horrible’ incident, however she says Zoe insisted that she not tell anyone about it. 

‘I was 25 at the time. It was a lot. I didn’t know what to do,’ the unnamed woman said.

It does not appear that any of his Sex and the City costars have commented on the allegations. In fact, Kristin Davis, who plays Charlotte, failed to mention them entirely when she appeared on the Late Late Show on Thursday

Both women told THR that the recent publicity surrounding the release of the Sex and the City sequel And Just Like That prompted them to come forward with their claims 

Noth has featured heavily in the press in the past week after his character, Mr. Big, died of a heart attack in a shocking twist in the first episode of the new reboot 

Noth’s second accuser, Lily, who is now working as a journalist, told a similar story to THR, alleging that the actor raped her in his home in Greenwich Village after they struck up a flirty relationship while she was working as a server at former New York nightclub No.8 in 2015, when she was 25. 

At the time, Noth – who was then 60 years old – had been married to his wife for three years and the couple had one child together, Orion, who was born in 2008. They have since had a second son, Keats, born in 2020. 

‘I was crying as it happened’: Actor’s alleged second victim claims he raped her in his New York apartment

The second accuser – a woman using the pseudonym Lily, now 31 – alleges that Noth assaulted her in his apartment in Greenwich Village in 2015 after he invited her on a date at Italian restaurant Il Cantinori.

According to Lily, the kitchen at the restaurant had closed by the time they arrived, so they drank wine together at the bar. She claims that she ‘had too much to drink’ but was ‘nowhere near blacking out’ when Noth suggested that they go back to his home to ‘sample his collection of whiskeys’. 

She says they spent time ‘listening to music’ and discussing his collection of ‘books about art and fashion’, before he ‘tried to make out with her’. 

Lily says she ‘cautiously entertained’ him, but that he became more forceful as time went on. 

‘He kept trying and trying and trying, and I should have said no more firmly and left. And then the next thing I knew, he pulled down his pants and he was standing in front of me,’ she says, alleging that he then ‘thrust his penis into her mouth’.

She claims that Noth – who was married to wife Tara Wilson and had one child with her at the time – told her ‘marriage is a sham’ and that ‘monogamy is not real’, before raping her. 

‘[Suddenly] he was having sex with me from the back in a chair,’ she said. ‘We were in front of a mirror. I was kind of crying as it happened.’

After the alleged attack, Lily says she ‘went to the bathroom and put on her skirt’, adding that she ‘felt awful… totally violated’. 

Describing herself as a long-time fan of the actor – whom she knew from his days starring in Law & Order, as well as his role on Sex and the City – Lily says she was ‘truly star-struck’ when he began ‘hitting on her’. 

‘He was hitting on me, for sure. I was flattered. I knew he was married, which is shameful of me to admit,’ she said.  

According to Lily, Noth asked for her number and later asked her out for dinner; they arranged to meet at Italian restaurant Il Cantinori – which featured in an episode of the original Sex and the City series.  

However, by the time the pair met at the eatery, the kitchen had closed, so Lily says they ‘had wine at the bar’ and discussed Noth’s lack of interest in appearing in a potential third Sex and the City movie.

Lily admits that she ‘had too much to drink’ but insists that she was ‘nowhere near blacking out’ when the actor invited her to his nearby home in Greenwich Village so that they could ‘sample his collection of whiskeys’ together.   

The woman – who describes herself as being ‘not super sexually active’ at the time – insists that she did not believe he would try and have sex with her, and that she simply though they would ‘drink whiskey and talk about his acting career’. 

Once inside his ‘amazing’ home, Lily says the pair listened to music and discussed the actor’s collection of art and fashion books, before he began trying to ‘make out with her’. 

Although she admitted that she ‘cautiously entertained’ him, she says that she was hesitant because he was ‘older and looked older’ than her. 

However, Lily says he became more forceful as time went on, claiming that he ‘kept trying and trying and trying’. 

‘I should have said no more firmly and left,’ she said, claiming that ‘the next thing she knew’ he had pulled down her pants and ‘was standing in front of her’, before ‘thrusting his penis into her mouth’.   

She says that she mentioned the fact that he had a wife and child, only for the actor to tell her that ‘marriage is a sham’ and ‘monogamy is not real’. Lily claims Noth then raped her from behind in a chair in front of a mirror. 

‘He was having sex with me from the back in a chair. We were in front of a mirror. I was kind of crying as it happened,’ she says. 

After the alleged assault took place, Lily says she went to the bathroom and put on her skirt, claiming that she ‘felt awful’ and ‘totally violated’.  

‘All of my dreams with this star I loved for years were gone,’ she added. 

The second woman – Lily – claims that the alleged attack took place in Noth’s Greenwich Village apartment (building pictured) after they met while she was working as a server in a club

Lily says she was working as a server in the VIP section of New York nightclub No. 8 (pictured), which has since closed, when Noth ‘hit on her’ in 2015 

While in an Uber home, Lily says she spoke to a friend – who was named Alex by THR – on the phone, whom she told that Noth had sex with her ‘pretty forcibly’. Despite her friend insisting that Lily should phone the police, she says she refused to.  

Speaking to the publication, Lily’s friend Alex confirmed her story and claimed that she listened to a voicemail Noth left on Lily’s phone after the incident.

According to Alex, Noth said in the message: ‘Hey, hope you didn’t take anything wrong last night. We had fun. Just want to make sure you didn’t take it the wrong way.’ 

However Lily offered a different recollection of the message, claiming that Noth told her: ‘I had a nice time and would really appreciate it if you wouldn’t talk to your girlfriends. If we could keep this between you and me, that would be great.’ 

Lily also handed over text messages sent between herself and Noth in March and April 2015 to The Hollywood Reporter, in which the pair seemingly discussed the incident, with the actor asking whether Lily ‘enjoyed their night last week’, adding that he ‘thought it was a lot of fun’ but that he ‘wasn’t quite sure how she felt’. 

According to the outlet, Lily responded that she ‘certainly enjoyed [Noth’s] company’ but that she ‘felt slightly used’, before suggesting that they continue their conversation on the phone.  

Noth went on to propose that the pair meet up for another date, sending her messages suggesting that they ‘have a drink’ and telling her that it ‘didn’t have to be at his place although he has the best whiskey’. 

In another message seen by THR, Noth reportedly asked Lily: ‘Oh mysterious one… where did you go.’

Lily says she agreed to see him for dinner on one occasion but ultimately canceled and the two did not meet again. 

According to Lily, she and Noth went on a date to Italian eatery Il Cantinori – however the kitchen was closed by the time they got there, so she says they drank wine at the bar

The restaurant actually featured in season four of Sex and the City, serving as the location for lead character Carrie Bradshaw’s 35th birthday party (pictured) 

Neither she nor Zoe have spoken publicly about their accusations until getting in touch with The Hollywood Reporter ‘months apart’ after being prompted by the frenzy of publicity surrounding the news about the new Sex and the City reboot, which was first announced in January of this year. 

The accusations against Noth come just one week after he hit headlines the world over while reprising his role as Mr. Big in the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That – in which his character controversially dies of a heart attack after doing a workout on a Peloton bike. 

Mr Big’s shock death sparked outrage among viewers – and prompted furious backlash from Peloton, whose shares dropped 11 per cent in the wake of the debut episode’s premiere last Thursday.

Three days after the first two episodes aired on HBO Max, Peloton hit back at the show by airing a commercial featuring Noth in his role as Mr Big – alongside real-life instructor Jess King who starred as his trainer in And Just Like That.  

That commercial has now been deleted from Peloton’s social media accounts – as well as from the account of King, who featured in it alongside Noth. 

In a statement made to DailyMail.com, a spokesperson for Peloton addressed the allegations made against Noth, saying: ‘Every single sexual assault accusation must be taken seriously. 

‘We were unaware of these allegations when we featured Chris Noth in our response to HBO’s reboot. As we seek to learn more, we have stopped promoting this video and archived related social posts.’

HBO Max has yet to publicly comment on the allegations; DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Noth and the streaming site.

Peloton DELETES viral ad starring Chris Noth as Mr Big from social media in wake of bombshell allegations of sexual assault… after Ryan Reynolds made clip in record time

  • Chris Noth has been accused of sexual assault by two anonymous women
  • The SATC actor has denied the claims, calling them ‘consensual encounters’
  • Noth teamed up with Peloton for a commercial after his exit from the show
  • However, all traces of the ad have now been deleted on Peloton’s social media
  • Peloton CEO John Foley was also confronted by fans on Twitter about the ad

Peloton has deleted its viral commercial starring Chris Noth as Mr. Big from its social media pages, after bombshell allegations of sexual assault were made against the actor on Thursday.

Noth, 67, has denied the claims of two anonymous women that have both come forward to The Hollywood Reporter – one of whom claims she needed stitches after an alleged 2004 assault in his apartment when he was 49 and she was just 22.

The claims have surfaced days after Noth teamed up with the exercise company, to cash in on his character’s controversial death scene while riding a Peloton bike in the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That.

Peloton has deleted its viral ad starring Chris Noth as Mr Big from social media in wake of bombshell allegations of sexual assault made against him by two women

No longer available: A link to the original post by Peloton is no longer showing up on its Instagram 

In statement, Peloton confirmed to DailyMail.com on Thursday: ‘Every single sexual assault accusation must be taken seriously. We were unaware of these allegations when we featured Chris Noth in our response to HBO’s reboot. As we seek to learn more, we have stopped promoting this video and archived related social posts.’

The commercial was produced by movie star Ryan Reynold’s marketing company Maximum Effort, with the actor also providing voiceover duties. It was pulled together in a record-setting time of just 36 hours.

Reynolds – who has now deleted it from his Twitter – came up with the idea for the 38-second commercial with Peloton CMO Dara Treseder.

Jess King, senior fitness instructor at Peloton, also deleted the ad from her account and it has been removed from the company’s YouTube channel.

Last week, Peloton shares nosedived 11% after Noth was killed off after his character was last seen using the bike.

The company responded by issuing a statement through Cardiologist Dr Suzanne Steinbaum, insisting that Mr Big riding a Peloton bike would have helped delay his fatal heart attack.

Then, taking a more creative approach to the damage control, the company released the Ryan Reynolds-produced ad on Sunday, December 12, just four days after the episode aired on HBO Max. 

Hitting out: Many took to social media to call out Peloton following the claims of sexual assault against Noth who starred in the ad 

The moment the story about Noth broke on Thursday morning, angry fans rushed to social media to demand the ad be pulled.

‘And now Chris Noth has been accused of sexually assaulting two women. losers all of you, delete this,’ one angry fan tweeted at Peloton’s official Twitter account.

Another user tweeted at Peloton, asking: ‘So now you are using an accused rapist Chris Noth in your ads ? That’s what happens when you put hype before integrity. Maybe don’t take 24 hours to plan your ads next time?’

Co-founder and CEO of Peloton John Foley was also directly tweeted at, with the question: ‘Are you sorry for hiring Chris Noth ? Don’t hire sexual predators to be in your ads.’

‘Please give as much attention to these two women and their story about Chris Noth as you gave to the Peloton jokes,’ survivor Abby Honold tweeted at THR’s account.

Honold added: ‘And don’t forget that coming forward about sexual assault does NOT mean that you get showered with money, fame, or compliments. It’s brutal, painful, and scary.’

Another tweet said: ‘So should peloton just pack it up and call it a day? Not a great look with the Chris Noth accusations coming out now.’

Claims: Co-founder and CEO of Peloton John Foley was also directly tweeted at with a tweet accusing Noth of being an alleged sexual predator 

And Just Like That: The actor teamed up with the company to cash in on the viral moment from the show 

 

Read original article here

Zoe Lister-Jones recounts Chris Noth being ‘sexually inappropriate’ at his NYC club

Zoe Lister-Jones has come out with her own account of sexual misconduct against Chris Noth, adding to the allegations outlined Thursday in The Hollywood Reporter.

“In my twenties I worked at a club in NY that Chris Noth owned and on the few occasions he would show up, he was consistently sexually inappropriate with a fellow female promoter,” Lister-Jones wrote via Instagram Thursday night.

“That same year I was a guest star on ‘Law and Order’ and it was his first episode returning as a detective after ‘SATC,’” the writer, director and actress’ account continues.

“He was drunk on set. During my interrogation scene he had a 22 oz. of beer under the table that he would drink in between takes. In one take he got close to me, sniffed my neck, and whispered, ‘You smell good.’ I didn’t say anything. My friend at the club never said anything. It’s so rare that we do.”

Brooklyn native Lister-Jones guest-starred on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” in 2005, the first year Noth returned to the series, in an episode called “Diamond Dogs.”

Noth co-owns The Cutting Room in Manhattan and was an investor in The Plumm — along with Damon Dash, supermodel Petra Nemcova, nightlife mogul Noel Ashman and ex-New Kid on the Block Joey McIntyre — which closed in 2009.

Zoe Lister-Jones/Instagram

Page Six was unable to determine which of the clubs Lister-Jones worked at on Thursday evening.

“My experiences are small in comparison to the accounts of assault that have so bravely been shared today,” Lister-Jones’ statement notes. (One of the accusers in the THR story was identified only by the name Zoe, though the similarity appears to just be a coincidence given the woman’s account happened in 2004 in Los Angeles.)

Page Six has reached out to Lister-Jones’ team for clarification.

Zoe Lister-Jones’ statement on Chris Noth.
Zoe Lister-Jones/Instagram

“Navigating predation at any level is a burden all women have to bear,” Lister-Jones, 39, continues. “And for the most part there is no accountability, and no consequence. Chris Noth capitalized on the fantasy that women believed Mr. Big represented.”

“F–k Mr. Big” her statement concludes.

Among the throng of supportive comments, “For All Mankind” actress Krys Marshall wrote, “Girlllll. He used to come to Cipriani when I was a promoter there and yea … YUP.”

“Last week, my friend asked me how I felt about Mr. Big’s death on ‘And Just Like That,’ and I said, honestly, I felt relieved,” Lister-Jones’ statement had started. “He asked why and I told him it was because I couldn’t separate the actor from the man, and the man is a sexual predator. My friend was alarmed at my word choice. And to be honest so was I. I hadn’t thought of this man for so many years, and yet there was a virility to my language that came from somewhere deep and buried.”

Zoe Lister-Jones’ statement on Chris Noth.
Zoe Lister-Jones/Instagram
Zoe Lister-Jones’ statement on Chris Noth.
Zoe Lister-Jones/Instagram

“Part of being a woman in this world is taking a certain amount of pride in knowing how to handle yourself in these situations,” it continued, in part. “In denying their impact as a means of survival. And burying the feelings that come with the transgressions that we have been taught are simply to be expected.”

The 67-year-old Noth, whose Mr. Big was killed off in the first episode of the “SATC” follow-up “And Just Like That,” allegedly preyed on two women in 2004 and 2015 after luring them to private areas, according to THR’s piece.

Noth “categorically” denied the allegations to the publication.



Read original article here

Jeff Garlin addresses accusations of inappropriate behavior on The Goldbergs

Jeff Garlin
Photo: David Livingston (Getty Images)

Jeff Garlin broke standard PR protocol this week, granting an interview to Vanity Fair’s Maureen Ryan that directly addressed allegations of inappropriate behavior on the set of his ABC sitcom The Goldbergs. The resulting conversation is a fascinating read: a blend of candidness, defensiveness, and repeated attempts by the Curb Your Enthusiasm star to categorize behavior that other people have said made them feel uncomfortable as simply him being “silly” on the show’s set.

Garlin begins the interview by clarifying that he has not been fired from The Goldbergs, something Ryan was apparently having a difficult time getting a straight answer on from Sony, which produces the show. He then goes on to admit that he’s been investigated by HR on the series every year for the last three years of the show, all for behavior he refers to as, yes, “silliness,” which is a word you’re going to read a lot in this interview.

For what we can only assume are a variety of mostly legal-related reasons, Garlin never describes exactly what he means by “silly” behavior—beyond giving one example of saying “Oh, my vagina” in front of cast or crew. From context clues, it mostly seems to mean making a lot of jokes of various levels of inappropriateness that makes people on the set uncomfortable, who then go to HR because directly confronting the series lead about his jokes (or, apparently, frequent hugs) can be disastrous for their careers. Here he is when asked about what he’s been investigated by HR over:

I’m not going to go over it because I don’t want to, but basically a lot of things that I disagree with—that are silly. If I said something silly and offensive, and I’m working at an insurance company, I think it’s a different situation. If I, as the star of the show, demanded a gun range and on set, and I was firing guns every day and I was a little bit loose—to me, that’s an unsafe work atmosphere. If I threatened people, that’s an unsafe work atmosphere. None of that goes on ever with me. That’s not who I am. I am sorry to tell you that there really is no big story. Unless you want to do a story about political correctness.

For what it’s worth, Garlin seems receptive to some of the points Ryan makes with her questions—even as he notes that she has an “agenda”—most notably the repeated reminder that behavior that might seem harmless from his point of view as the lead on the series might seem more discomfort-inducing or harmful when viewed from those in positions of lesser power.

Here he is, for instance, when asked who decides what the difference between “silly” and harmful behavior might be:

I completely concur with you. It is a big bowl of “who determines?” It’s definitely gray, but we have to see it from the big picture, in terms of, that’s how I’m funny on camera. I’ve only had a negative experience with my behavior on The Goldbergs. I’ve never had it before or since—I’ve worked for Disney, I’ve worked for every studio in town.

It is, as we said, a very strange interview, as Ryan attempts to drill down with the actor and stand-up on the relevant issues, and Garlin varies between openly addressing them, assuring readers that he means no harm to anyone, and repeatedly characterizing the problems people have expressed with him as being blown out of proportion. He also makes it clear that he’s pretty done with The Goldbergs in any case; he makes it clear that he’s upset with how he’s been asked to curtail his behaviors on the show’s set, and expresses his belief that it’s unlikely that the long-running sitcom will be picked up for another season.

Read original article here

Bill Gates was told to stop ‘inappropriate’ emails with Microsoft employee in 2008, report says

In 2008, when Gates was still a Microsoft (MSFT) employee and chairman of the board, executives discovered emails sent a year earlier between him and a mid-level female employee in which he asked her to meet outside of work, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal Monday citing people familiar with the matter. At the time, then-general counsel Brad Smith and then-chief people officer Lisa Brummel met with Gates to tell him the behavior was inappropriate and should stop, and Gates agreed, the Journal reported.

Microsoft confirmed the Journal’s report to CNN Business but declined to comment. Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw told the Journal that “while flirtatious, [the emails] were not overtly sexual, but were deemed to be inappropriate,” and that the employee never made a complaint about the incident.

A spokeswoman for Gates, Bridgitt Arnold, denied the claims in a written statement to the Journal. “These claims are false, recycled rumors from sources who have no direct knowledge, and in some cases have significant conflicts of interest,” she said. Representatives for Gates’ did not respond to multiple requests for comment from CNN Business.

Gates, one of the richest people in the world, was Microsoft’s chief executive until 2000. He left day-to-day duties at the company in 2008 and served as chairman until 2014. In March 2020, Gates gave up his seat on Microsoft’s board, saying he wanted to dedicate more time to philanthropy.
Monday’s report follows other allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior by Gates when he worked at Microsoft, which surfaced earlier this year amid his divorce from his wife of 27 years, Melinda French Gates. (CNN has not independently confirmed all of the allegations.)
In May, the Journal reported that Gates’ 2020 resignation from Microsoft’s board of directors came after the board hired a law firm to investigate a romantic relationship he’d had years earlier with a Microsoft employee.

“Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000,” a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to CNN Business in May. “A committee of the Board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm, to conduct a thorough investigation. Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern.”

A spokesperson for Gates called the 2000 relationship “an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably,” in a statement to the Journal at the time and said the company’s investigation was unrelated to Gates’ decision to leave the board.

Read original article here

Broadcaster Apologizes for ‘Inappropriate’ Images Aired During Olympic Parade

For television broadcasters worldwide, the parade of nations during the opening of the Olympics can be an exercise in diplomacy and global awareness, with media outlets resorting to trivia nuggets, athlete profiles and geopolitical musings to fill airtime.

But one South Korean broadcaster has apologized for its choice of “inappropriate” images that appeared next to the names of several countries on Friday during its coverage of the opening ceremony.

The images drew criticism from viewers, who said they were offensive or had perpetuated stereotypes.

As the contingent of Olympic athletes from Italy entered Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium for the parade of nations, the broadcaster, MBC, aired a photo of a pizza.

For Norway? A piece of salmon.

Then there was Ukraine, which the broadcaster reminded viewers was where the Chernobyl nuclear disaster happened in 1986, complete with a photo of the doomed power station.

“The images and captions are intended to make it easier for the viewers to understand the entering countries quickly during the opening ceremony,” MBC said in a statement in English, published Saturday on Twitter. “However, we admit there was a lack of consideration for the countries concerned, and inspection was not thorough enough. It is an inexcusable mistake.”

Raphael Rashid, a freelance journalist based in Seoul, drew attention to the images on Twitter.

“When Haitian athletes entered the stadium, an on-screen explanation said, ‘the political situation is fogged by the assassination of the president,’” Mr. Rashid wrote. “When Syrian athletes entered, it said ‘rich underground resources; a civil war that has been going on for 10 years.’”

For Romania, the broadcaster used an image of Count Dracula. And for the Marshall Islands, it noted that it had once been a nuclear test site for the United States.

When it was Malaysia’s turn in the parade of nations, MBC showed a graphic with that country’s coronavirus vaccination rate, along with its gross domestic product.

In its statement, MBC said that it would investigate the process of how the images, and the captions that accompanied them, had been chosen and vetted.

“Furthermore, we will fundamentally re-examine the production system of sports programs to avoid any similar accidents in the future,” the broadcaster said.

The Korea Herald reported that this was not the first time that MBC had made a misstep during the Olympics.

In 2008, the news website said, the broadcaster was penalized by the Korea Communications Commission for disparaging countries participating in the Beijing Olympics with its captions. The broadcaster described Sudan as an unstable country with a long civil war and Zimbabwe as a country with deadly inflation.



Read original article here

South Korean network apologizes for ‘inappropriate’ images on Tokyo Olympics

A South Korean broadcaster has apologized for using “inappropriate” images and captions to depict some countries competing in the Tokyo Olympics — including using a photo of Chernobyl for Ukraine and pizza for Italy.

Seoul-based MBC also posted reports of the recent assassination of President Jovenel Moïse as Haitian athletes walked into the Tokyo stadium during opening ceremonies, The Guardian said in a report.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

The network flashed a picture of Dracula for Romania, pizza for Italy and salmon for Norway.

It referred to the US Marshall Islands, meanwhile, as “once a nuclear test site for the United States.”

The disastrous depictions left the news outlet red-faced.

“Inappropriate images and captions were used to introduce some stories,” the network, officially the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, said in a statement.

“We apologize to those countries, including Ukraine and our viewers,” it said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Athletes from other nations were depicted with more benign — and sometimes bizarre — images and information.

For instance, Great Britain’s entrance into the arena included an image of Queen Elizabeth II, while El Salvador, where cryptocurrency is the legal tender, was depicted with a bitcoin symbol, the newspaper said.

Read original article here

S. Korean president to skip Olympics after ‘inappropriate’ comments

South Korean President Moon Jae-in scrapped plans to attend the Tokyo Summer Olympics and meet Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, his office said Monday – after a senior Japanese diplomat said the leader was “masturbating” if he thought he’d have a summit with Suga.

The two countries had been in talks about holding a top-level encounter during the Games to improve relations that have plunged to their worst level in years over historical disputes.

But things went sour after a Japanese diplomat at the embassy in Seoul reportedly likened the South Korean president’s efforts to pleasuring himself.

“President Moon is masturbating himself,” Soma told a reporter at a South Korean cable news station Friday, according to The UK Times.

“Japan does not have the time to care so much about the relationship between the two countries as South Korea thinks.”

The Japanese ambassador reprimanded his deputy Hirohisa Soma for his “highly inappropriate” comments, but a Blue House official on Monday said the comment was “difficult to tolerate”.

Although Seoul and Tokyo had “meaningful discussions” on historical issues, the progress was deemed “still insufficient,” the Blue House said.

In Tokyo, Suga voiced “regret” over the comments, telling reporters: “They are extremely inappropriate remarks.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (pictured) have scrapped plans to attend the Tokyo Summer Olympics and meet.
REUTERS

He added: “Regardless, we want to firmly communicate with the South Korean side… to bring the Japan-South Korean relationship to a sound place.”

Kyodo News, quoting an unnamed government source, reported that Tokyo plans to “remove” Soma from his role because of his controversial remarks.

The relations between Japan and South Korea, both major US allies, are strained by ongoing disputes over compensation for Japan’s early-20th-century colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.

Hwang Hee, Seoul’s sports and culture minister, will lead South Korea’s delegation to the Olympics, which kick off on Friday.

A general view of the Fukushima Azuma Stadium ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Getty Images

With Post wires

Read original article here

A massage therapist’s story of Deshaun Watson’s inappropriate behavior

Editor’s note: This story contains a detailed account of sexual misconduct.

In the fall of 2019, Mary readied for an afternoon massage appointment with a client she had not worked with before. She was told in advance that he preferred to be covered with a towel, instead of the standard sheets, so she pulled out the largest towel she had. He asked for a private entry, so she brought him up to her office through the building’s back door. What she couldn’t prepare for, though, was Deshaun Watson’s conduct during their 2.5-hour session; she says it was unlike anything she’s experienced from any other client she has treated.

As of Monday, 19 civil suits against Watson, filed by women from three different states, are publicly available. They allege that the Texans quarterback engaged in some form of sexual misconduct against them during a massage appointment, including exposing himself, purposefully touching them with his penis, ejaculating on them or, in two of the complaints, forcing them to put their mouths on his penis. Watson has asserted he’s “never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect”; his attorney, Rusty Hardin, said in a statement last week, “I believe that any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false.” Hardin’s statement included a claim that they have proof of a previous extortion attempt by one of the plaintiffs who said Watson coerced her into putting her mouth on his penis. Watson’s camp has suggested that the torrent of allegations stem from publicity and recruitment efforts by the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Tony Buzbee.

Mary, though, is not one of Buzbee’s plaintiffs; Sports Illustrated initiated contact with her before learning she had worked with Watson, a session that predates the timelines detailed in any of the lawsuits filed. She is a licensed massage therapist who owns her own business in Houston (SI agreed to Mary’s request for anonymity to protect her privacy and her business; we are referring to her by an alias). She told SI she is sharing a public testimony, her account of Watson’s behavior, with the hope of preventing this from happening to any other professionals in her industry. In an effort to corroborate Mary’s account, SI reviewed text and social media messages, and interviewed a family member Mary spoke to in the immediate aftermath of the session—that family member’s account was consistent with Mary’s. In response to an email detailing Mary’s account, Hardin said in a phone call, “We are just not in any position to comment in any way right now on another anonymous story or complaint. I just think it’s unfair to ask us to.”

As Hardin and Buzbee—the latter through frequent updates on Instagram and a press conference on March 19—have traded accusations publicly, Mary remains unsure as to whether she’ll pursue legal action. She contacted Buzbee’s firm after the first complaints were filed, but says she felt pressured to sign a contract for them to represent her and declined. She is working with U.A. Lewis, a civil rights attorney, to explore her options.

“The one thing I keep thinking about is, he’s about to get traded to another place,” Mary says. “What if he goes to Atlanta or California or anywhere else? He would have a whole new community of massage therapists to target.”

Moreover, Watson’s blanket denial of ever treating women with disrespect helped spur Mary to speak up and lend her voice as a witness.

“More than anything, the fact that he’s denying all the allegations makes it more of a reason for us to use our voice and say what we have to say,” she says.

Mary also wants the information she is sharing to spur Watson to get help, and to be used in a way that helps establish a higher respect level for the massage therapy profession, which she and many of her colleagues entered into with the goal of helping people.

“I just want a genuine apology, for us and our community, for putting us in these situations where we don’t know what to do,” she says. “There are so many people that are against us, saying, ‘Why would he do that? He has no reason to do that. He has a beautiful girlfriend; he has this, this, this and this.’ All of those things are true, but fame doesn’t create character.”


Have a tip? Email Jenny Vrentas at jenny.vrentas@si.com


Mary makes clear that Watson did not touch her, nor did he force her into conducting any sexual acts. But she says he did engage in behavior that was both inappropriate and unlike any other interaction she’s had with any of her more than 1,000 clients—including other professional athletes—in her several years working as a massage therapist.

She met Watson when he arrived at her rented office space in the fall of 2019. His appointment, originally for a 90-minute massage, was booked through another massage therapist in the area. Mary had a contract with the other therapist, who would refer clients to Mary, take a fee and then pay Mary for the session. This other therapist had previously referred several other clients to Mary, without any issues, so she trusted her.

Mary didn’t know the client would be Watson until about 15 minutes before the appointment, which she says was routine when she’d receive a referral. The other therapist also relayed what she presented as a standard request from Watson, to use a towel for the session rather than sheets. Mary put out a beach-sized towel for maximum coverage.

When Mary books clients, she requires them to fill out an intake form, which stipulates that draping will be used during the session so that only the area being worked on will not be covered. (The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation adopted in February 2020 a requirement that genitals and the gluteal cleavage must be draped during massages; most licensed therapists already required this in their practice.) Since Watson’s appointment was set up through a third party, Mary’s understanding was that the other therapist would handle the paperwork, though she can’t say for certain whether Watson received or reviewed those rules. She used the oversize towel to drape him until about 45 minutes into the session, when she says he tossed the towel onto the floor, saying it was too itchy. Watson was lying face up on the table, naked and totally uncovered, something Mary says has never happened during any of her other massage appointments.

“I was in shock,” Mary says. She proceeded with the massage without the towel, knowing that her payment was coming from another therapist. “I trusted the therapist that referred him to me that nothing weird was going to happen.”

After 90 minutes, Watson asked to extend the session for another hour. She continued to work only on his quads, inner thighs and abdomen—the specific areas he requested. Watson developed an erection, she says, and also began clenching and slowly “thrusting the air.” Mary at first wondered whether his movements were a pain response to her deep-tissue work, so she asked whether he was O.K. She says he replied that he was fine and stopped thrusting for a short time.

Mary learned during her massage training that erections can develop as a relaxation response. She recalls situations in the past when that’s happened to a client while they dozed off; they usually become embarrassed when they realize it and start talking about something random to divert their thoughts. If that doesn’t work, she’ll sometimes switch to a more painful massage technique. But Watson’s behavior indicated to her that “his intentions were different.” She adds, “There was one point that he did tell me that I could move [his penis] if I needed to, and I just completely ignored him.” She took this as a suggestion to touch his exposed penis.

Watson stayed on his back for the entire session. While massaging his abdomen, Mary says she noticed “different fluids on his stomach.” She remembers questioning whether it was really pre-ejaculate, telling herself, This can’t be what I think it is. In the final five to 10 minutes of the session, Mary says Watson began thrusting his pelvis in the air again, this time much faster. “At that point, I recognized it for what it was,” Mary says. She says she told him he needed to “calm down.” He stopped, the session ended and she left the room to let him get dressed. When she returned, he gave her a hug. Because of his request to use the back entrance, she then had to walk him out of the building.

Mary says she immediately told the other massage therapist who had referred Watson to her everything that had happened; she remembers the other therapist telling her she would talk to Watson. Mary also called a family member directly following the session. SI spoke to this relative, who remembers taking Mary’s call that afternoon at a stoplight at a specific intersection in Houston. The relative’s account of what Mary told her then aligns with Mary’s description of the incident now; she also recalls Mary’s shock and disbelief that day, as she described what she believed to be the pre-ejaculatory fluid on his stomach and his suggestion for her to touch and move his penis. They were both stunned that she and the business she’d worked hard to build had been disrespected in this way.

Watson reached out to both Mary and the referring therapist the day after his appointment, asking to book with her again. Mary says she told him, via text, that she was not available. In the following months, she says she heard from Watson twice more, via Instagram direct message. Each time he did not seem to realize that he’d previously booked with her. SI reviewed these messages, sent from Watson’s verified Instagram account, as part of the process to corroborate Mary’s account.

The first follow-up was a few weeks later, via direct message to the Instagram page for Mary’s business. Watson said a mutual friend had told him to reach out about booking a massage. Mary told him they had worked together before, and he made her feel uncomfortable then. She had reservations, but recognizing that he could be an important client for her growing business, she told him she could work with him again if he could be respectful. She also made clear to him, in one message, “I just do massage,” followed by the upside-down smiley face emoji. Watson replied, “Oh gotcha, sorry there were no intentions for anything more.” He did not book an appointment.

The last time Mary heard from him was in the fall of 2020. This time, Watson DM’ed her personal Instagram account, replying to a post in which she’d made an announcement about her business and congratulating her. He then asked whether she had any availability for a massage. Mary was again unsure whether he realized who she was, so she screenshotted and sent the conversation they’d had on her business account. She reiterated to him that she runs a professional business that requires full-sheet draping, and, if he could abide by those policies, he was welcome to book with her. She says he replied to her positively and liked one of her messages. He did not book that time, either. Mary says she has had no contact with Watson or his camp since this last exchange.

Mary believes Watson’s behavior, based on what she experienced as well as the accounts other women have brought forward, was “a power move, because he could.” After his appointment with her, she says the shock lingered. Seeing his face on social media or hearing a friend mention his name—common occurrences for the face of the local NFL franchise—became triggers for her. She’d scroll past or turn away. Her career aspirations were once to be a massage therapist for professional athletes or teams, but after her experience with Watson, her focus shifted away from that goal.

Over the past two weeks, Mary was triggered again, hearing the stories of the other women who came forward. Many of the civil suits put forth accounts similar to hers, such as his request for a private entrance or his preference to be covered by only a towel, which he’d later remove. One of the complaints also says that Watson “started to thrust his body up and down with a full erection” at the end of his massage. Mary believes the behavior described in these complaints also suggests an apparent “escalation of attitude or what he’s willing to do,” since she worked with him in 2019.

In addition to speaking up now, over the last few months Mary also sought to protect her fellow massage therapists: She began sharing the warning that she wishes she had received.

Jenny Vrentas is a senior writer at Sports Illustrated. She can be reached at jenny.vrentas@si.com



Read original article here