Thatâs what Blogging.la contributor David Markland wants to knowâŠ
On Friday night Dateline NBC aired a story focusing on harrassment charges against the CEO of American Apparel, Dov Charney. NBC says that a number of different employees in different cities contend that Dov was constantly looking for employees to have sex with, and commonly used inappropriate language.
More interesting than the debatable charges against him are the actions and opinions he openly refers to that constantly remind me of quotables from âThe People vs. Larry Flyntâ.
Weâve thrown a few volleys in Charneyâs direction in the past, but Iâm pretty sure this is the first time weâve done it since we added comments. So what do you kids think â is Dov the new Larry Flynt or not?
18 comments
who cares?! as long as AA continues to make decent shirts I could care less about the drama in that perverts life. I suppose we as a t-shirt community have our own opinions on the matter but for me, personally, I could care less. In fact, I almost hope he loses his money and some boring guy takes over so there would be no controversy.
Are you for real? Use your brain dude. Dov will beat Larry up if they were in celebrity death match. He just will. Besides, American Apparelâs stuff is just plain awesome.
The question wasnât if Iâm for real or not â nor was it if Dov could beat up Larry in a celebrity death match. I am using my brain, but itâs pretty apparent that you might not be.
Quit trying to be a troll, Rong. Itâs not very becoming.
Well, I think the answer is no.
While Dov is certainly attempting to loosen up the rather spastic attitude of a large part of America to sexuality â like Larry did in more dramatic way (I guess â I only saw the movie) â his major contribution is in a field (mass production of consumption goods) where enforcing legislation is lacking in many many cases.
Iâm not sure, but I guess one can compare Dovâs sexual activities with Larryâs secondary activity as a politicianâŠ
Love the site, btw
While I hate to support a company with this pervert as CEO, Iâd rather do so than support a company using sweat shops.
Iâm not sure if heâs the next Larry Flynt, but I am pretty sure his company would be doing even better than it already is if he calmed his pants down a bit.
While I tend to think his company is a short term fad, one that will be extinguished within a few years, Iâm definitely intrigued by Charneyâs behavior. Itâs noticeably creepy (i.e., the ads that evoke porn, the alleged sexual misconduct, etc.). Combine that with the fact that American Apparel shirts seem to have only been made for males who have no upper body mass (or shoulder blades), and Iâm not likely to buy their stuff.
Iâm not sure what you mean by the new âlarry flynt.â If you mean hero to superficial twenty-somethings who think heâs a strong individual just âdoing his thing,â well, maybe yes. If youâre asking if I think heâs a misogynist dickhead, the answer is yes.
To be clear, it looks like Charney is being charged with âhostile environmentââ, which I think most would agree is far less egregious when compared to its âquid pro quoâ counterpart. Nonetheless Iâm sure his eccentric personality has made him a prime candidate for nightly news stories (and Preshrunk) to smear him and his company. However I think the more important question revolves around whether or not journalists and bloggers should give this type of thing any attention at all, at least until there has been a verdict in the case.
Iâm sure most of AAâs customer base is composed of politically conscious individuals who feel secure purchasing clothing that hasnât been produced in sweat shops, by child labor, or under other conditions that violate basic human rights (which is the bulk of clothing sold in the U.S.). [Which, as a side note, Iâm surprised that the media has credited style instead of labor-conscious principles for his companyâs success.] I would guess these customers would rather not buy clothing from an employer that encourages sexual harassment either. I would also guess that the result of media spin suggesting AAâs CEO is some smarmy sex-crazed businessman who forces all of his employees to engage in sex, or at least sexual banter, is sure to decrease profit margin.
The question then becomes; what is the intended effect of syndicating this news story? Is this to enlighten your audience to the recent slanted NBC report? Is there a benefit to perpetuating speculation as to whether or not sexual harassment actually took place? I think most would agree that this is one of the first wildly successful textile producers and retailers (if not the only) since globalization came to the fore. Is it worthwhile to reinforce news reports that portray a sleazy caricature (I realize itâs not difficult in his case) of a CEO who is actually making social and economic progress?
At the least, maybe we could give the absurd lifestyle and personal habits of pro-sweatshop CEOs some attention too.
Um, hostile environment is or can be just as egregious, as it includes unwanted contact with employees.
I think there are other big coporate dudes doing way worse things than Dov. Itâs just that heâs eccentric, and always in the media. So itâs easy to focus on the crap he does.
What about Gildan. They impose pregnancy tests, and fire any woman who gets pregnant.
1) AAâs stuff isnât âjust plain awesomeâ. Well it might be if youâre tiny. Iâm not. Most of their shirts just plain piss me off. The 70âs/80âs retro crap they are doing this year makes me laugh: âquick quick, letâs see if we can get people to wear the worst clothing of a whole decade⊠tee heeâ
2) The porn/pseudo porn in their ads and stores is just fricking creepy, especially when it all spills into their tiny kids section
3) Unwanted sexual advances and contact (which is what is being alleged, so letâs just talk in the abstract shall we?) are not part and parcel of âloosing upâ anything. Theyâre wrong.
4) I wish I had a 4. But I donât. Sorry.
Not true. It âcanâ involve contact, but typically does not (see Lexus Nexus). As contact is more likely to be considered quid pro quo as the employee would then be forced to trade sexual behavior (i.e. physical contact) for employment.
Again, not true. According to the NY Times and various other sources (including the woman is claiming hostile environment.
The previous comments underscore my point of the effect of media spin.
And what makes an environment hostile?
Rose petals? Happy birthday cake?
Come onâŠ
âThe previous comments underscore my point of the effect of media spin.â
Oh yes, Iâm all dizzy. Confused even. Iâm a zombie. Thank you so very much for readjusting my world view random one named guy on the internet.
it depends on what you mean by âthe new larry flyntâ. heâs a good self-publicist & he uses sex to promote his business. but, heâs not in a wheelchair, and i donât think iâve ever heard him condoning rape.
⊠Itâs true. You just canât please everyone. So why beat yourself up trying to do that.
Besides, who got who talking about who?
Dov Charneyâs employee here.
I used to be his assistant. Hostile environment? He uses creative metaphors involving elaborate dirty deeds and shouts them out on the phone. I actually thought it was really funny to hear âone million dollarsâ and âshove your pretty little face up my dogâs assâ in the same sentence from my boss. And I never felt threatened. Heâs a lamb! Yeah, he swears a lot. But throw an inventive combo of swear words back at him, and heâll probably just start laughing with you.
And yes, our stores are plastered with some very sexy images icluding covers of old porn mags. People who are upset by such images should not shop or apply for jobs at American Apparel.
mr. charney is hardly mr. flynt.
mr. flyntâs move into politic action and the defense of personal freedom was the byproduct of persecution (albeit for making nasty porn).
mr. charneyâs claims to purity are tarnished by both his personal (sexual) actions and his proffesional actions.
while AA made a name for themselves as âsweatâ free, they are also one of the only non-union textile manufacturers in the states. the heavier charges levied against charney and AA are for âunion-bustingâ on site, not an old man making pervy adds or trying to sleep with his coworkers.
unfortunately, like most âleftâ concepts, the population that demands it is the first to tear it down. while i think AA needs the support, i do feel that it would be appropriate to rid the company of itâs controversial head, as he can only do more damage.
-keep the pervy adds
-keep the the small sizes (come onâ its the only brand where a medium couldnât fit three of me and goes past my crotch. other companies keep making medium BIGGER, itâs annoying.)
-keep the styles (as to the âworst clothesâ comment, AA pretty much has a revovling stock. most of the things in the store âthis seasonâ were there last season, and will be there next season. the polos, the tâs, the shorts, the velour track jacketsâŠnone of it is âthis seasonâ)
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