Working for Murdochs like war zone, says nanny
BRITAIN: Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng have been forced to deny allegations by a former nanny that working for the media mogul’s wife was similar to a ‘‘war zone’’.
Ying-Shu Hsu claimed that Deng would frequently lose her temper with staff, and once threw a nanny out of her car, leaving her stranded by the roadside. ‘‘Everyone hates her,’’ Hsu told the gossip website Gawker.
The allegations were dismissed by a spokesman for the Murdochs, who described Hsu as a ‘‘disgruntled former employee’’.
Hsu began working for the couple in December 2004, after answering an anonymous advert for a Chinese language tutor. She was hired to teach their daughters Grace, 10, and Chloe, 9, to read and write in their mother’s native language, but was soon given additional responsibilities.
But she says that it was far from enjoyable working for Deng, who punched a man during a House of Commons committee hearing last year when he attacked her husband with a foam pie.
Hsu
said:
‘‘Everyone
who works for her hates her and is scared of her. When she’s there, it’s like a war zone.’’
Deng once kicked another nanny out of her car, she said. ‘‘One of the nannies made a mistake in the car, and Wendi told the chauffeur to stop the car and told the nanny to get out and then drove off. She has a hot temper.’’
Hsu, who was paid US$3000 (NZ$3740) a month, left her job after a knee injury in January 2006. She later tried to sue claiming she was not properly compensated, but was unsuccessful.
A spokesman for Murdoch and his wife said: ‘‘Ms Hsu is a disgruntled former employee who worked for the Murdoch family for a year more than six years ago. The Murdochs’ workers’ compensation insurance policy covered her injury and offered her compensation, but Ms Hsu chose instead to pursue legal action. A state court dismissed her claims, ruling that they were ‘inadmissible’ and ‘unpersuasive’.
‘‘Having failed in court, she has apparently turned to the media with unfounded and untrue accusations. We will not dignify them with comment.’’