Straight man claims sex harass by fashion big
SHOE COMPANY exec Thomas Gibb put his best foot forward — only to learn his boss was looking a little higher.
“How is your d--k?” the gay executive asked the straight new employee during their initial March 1 business meeting — with things only getting creepier from there, a new lawsuit charged.
Court papers filed Tuesday accused Giovanni Morelli of sexually harassing Gibb from day one, including “unwanted touchings and endless comments” about oral and anal sex.
The Manhattan Supreme Court suit alleged that Morelli became obsessed with Gibb’s genitals once the plaintiff was hired as Stuart Weitzman’s vice president of footwear development.
Head designer and creative director Morelli asked Gibb about his package when the men first met, the “opening overture in what became a bombardment of offensive conduct,” the 15-page lawsuit alleged.
Morelli suggested on more than one occasion that gay sex might loosen Gibb up, court papers said.
Gibb alleged that Weitzman ignored his “multiple complaints” about Morelli’s constant crude come-ons — and even laughed off the defendant’s sexual shenanigans.
“Mr. Morelli constantly injected sexually charged conversation and innuendo into the workplace, making those around him, including Mr. Gibb, very uncomfortable,” the lawsuit alleged.
Stuart Weitzman, along with Stuart Coach and Kate Spade, are the well-known brands owned by plaintiff Tapestry Inc. An email sent to Tapestry for comment was not returned.
Gibb recounted sending a May 4 complaint to human resources staffer Molly Rosen after returning to work from the weekend to find Morelli had drawn two large penises on a whiteboard in his office.
“Hahaha I’m dying,” the lawsuit quotes Rosen as replying via email. “Giovanni?”
Morelli’s inappropriate behavior further included introducing Gibb to people as “Tommy Straight.”
During a March business trip to Spain, Morelli told a crowd of people that Gibb was so heterosexual that “even if I saw him with a d--k in his mouth, I wouldn’t believe it.”
And, the lawsuit alleged, Morelli touched Gibb’s back and legs before asking, “Is there any way you would ever consider not being straight?”
The lawsuit by Gibb, a wellknown figure in the fashion and footwear industry, seeks unspecified damages for “monetary and emotional harm” along with punitive damages.
While Tapestry announced last week that Morelli resigned after one year as head designer and creative director of the shoe label, the lawsuit charged that he was actually fired for cause.
The same was true of company human resources executive Rosen, who coddled Morelli and chuckled at his inappropriate antics, according to the lawsuit.
In both instances, the company was simply doing damage control to limit its legal liability, the lawsuit said.