Harv aide sues: I hadto‘playmaid’
A TOP EDITOR at the National Enquirer and other gossip magazines rose to the top of the masthead even after complaints that he forced women employees to watch or listen to porn in the office and engaged in sexually inappropriate discussions.
Dylan Howard, chief content officer of American Media Inc., nicknamed himself “Dildo” and liked to openly speculate on female workers’ sex lives while talking about his own sexual partners in frank terms, former employees told The Associated Press.
He also invited a dozen employees to Las Vegas in January 2012 for an all-expenses-paid, three-day birthday party for himself dubbed, “Dildo’s Dirty 30,” according to a flyer obtained by the AP.
That flyer later prompted American Media to hire an outside consultant to investigate the allegations against Howard, the AP reported Tuesday.
During the inquiry, Howard stopped working in the Los Angeles office of American Media Inc., which owns Us Weekly as well as the National Enquirer.
He quit shortly after the probe — but roughly a year later, was rehired by the company and promoted to a top job in its New York office.
American Media said only two women employees made complaints about Howard’s behavior and the outside consultant had not turned up evidence of any serious wrongdoing.
“It was determined that there was some, what you would call as, horsing around outside the office, going to bars and things that are not uncommon in the media business,” American Media attorney Cam Stacher told AP.
American Media on Tuesday said Howard had the company’s full support.
The AP spoke to 12 former employees who all knew something about the prior probe into Howard’s behavior — but only two agreed to be identified. Maxine Page, a former senior editor at RadarOnline, told the news service she complained to HR at American Media on behalf of two female reporters targeted for inappropriate comments by Howard.
He told the newsroom he was going to create a Facebook page for the vagina of one of the women, Page said. He also commented on the woman’s sex life and made her and others female employees watch or listen to graphic recordings of celebrities having sex, she said.
Former reporter Liz Crokin said she was also harassed by Howard, who once asked if she was “going to be walking the streets tonight” because of her high heels.
Howard, 35, is also embroiled in the massive sex scandal that’s tainted Hollywood and ended Harvey Weinstein’s career.
The movie mogul, accused of sexual harassment and rape by more than 50 women, relied on American Media and Howard to help him get exclusive rights to damaging stories and then sit on them. Howard also helped gather damaging information on at least one Weinstein accuser, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
American Media told The Times it sometimes worked to gather information to help Mr. Weinstein because of mutual business interests. A FORMER personal assistant to pervy producer Harvey Weinstein is filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against him in a Manhattan Federal Court. Sandeep Rehal, who worked for almost two years at The Weinstein Co., said she suffered gender discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation until she quit in February 2015. Rehal was required to buy the 65-year-old mogul’s erectile dysfunction medication and “play maid to his sexual encounters,” said her attorney Genie Harrison. “No one should have to endure what Ms. Rehal experienced at the hands of Harvey Weinstein,” Harrison added. Rehal didn’t come forward in 2015 because she feared the repercussions of angering Weinstein, Harrison said. But Weinstein now faces accusations of sexual harassment and assault by more than 100 women and is under invest igation by the NYPD, LAPD, Scotland Yard and Beverly Hills Police. Rehal “stands with all of the other victims of Harvey Weinstein,” Harrison said. A MANHATTAN woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by a peace officer at a social services office has filed a $5 million lawsuit against the city.
Laura Zilioli was at the Human Resources Administration office on W. 14th St. and Fifth Ave. on May 17 to pick up a check when “words were exchanged” her attorney, Michael Rubin said.
John Lugo, an HRA peace officer, arrested Zilioli, 43, for alleged trespassing, according to the Manhattan Federal Court suit.
Lugo, 35, took the handcuffed Zilioli to a “secluded room,” where he “touched Zilioli’s breasts and then forcefully orally sodomized her without her consent,” the suit said.
Lugo was arrested Sept. 18 on charges including criminal sex act by force and one coercion, officials said.
His lawyer declined to comment on the allegations.
The city has “zero tolerance” for sexual assault and is reviewing the case, a Law Department spokesman said. Lugo has been suspended and served with disciplinary charges, an official said.