The Nygård Files
NBC’s “Dateline” aired a two-hour investigative piece Friday night about the embattled apparel executive Peter Nygård, who is awaiting extradition to the U.S. on a nine-count federal indictment on charges of sex trafficking and sexual assault.
Attorneys for Nygård in Canada and the U.S. did not respond to requests for comment regarding the allegations in the “Dateline” special. Nygård, who remains in jail in Canada, has denied any wrongdoing. A spokesperson for Nygård said he is no longer working on his behalf and there is no new contact.
In what was a nearly twoyear investigation, the special “Secrets of Nygård Cay” featured accusers detailing their alleged abuse and observations of the fashion mogul’s flamboyant and hedonistic lifestyle. NBC’s Natalie Morales spoke with a few women who have accused Nygård of rape or sexual assault, including model Beverly Peele, former Nygård treasurer Mariel
Carbuccia, and Jenny Gilmer, who first met Nygård as teenager through a Bahamian tennis instructor. Peele, who had a son as a result of what she said was not a consensual encounter with Nygård, said her son Trey encouraged her to speak out publicly. Peele detailed her accusations in a piece for Elle magazine in February.
Her teenage son also appeared in the segment, recounting how he told Peele, “‘Mom, we need to speak up.’”
Peele said she and her son periodically spent time with Nygård through the years because she wanted him to know his father. She also described the physical torment that she experienced.
Peele, a former model for Nygård, recalled attending “pamper parties,” the womenfocused all-night parties that Nygård threw at his Mayaninspired estate Nygård Cay that were designed for the host to meet women. The “Dateline” segment included allegations of Nygård drugging women and visitors to Nygård Cay having to hand over their passports at the entrance. NBC also reported that party guests had to provide such required information as weight, age and email upon arrival and that information was stored on Nygård company servers.
The “Dateline” segment averaged 3.19 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The show touched upon the Finnish-born Nygård’s rags-toriches career as a manufacturer of affordable women’s sportswear and careerwear. (The founder ran an $800 million business at its prime.) “The Secrets of Nygård Cay” noted — without naming individuals — how co-conspirators within the company allegedly were tied to Nygård’s alleged sexual misconduct.
One former Nygård vice president described in the show airing concerns and the executive also claimed that he had been silenced, and faced a home invasion for being a whistleblower.
Attorney Greg Gutzler, who is a New York-based lawyer representing dozens of women in a class action suit against Nygård, said the fashion executive targeted select women at the pamper parties, and at times “happy juice,” a beverage with an alleged daterape drug, was given to them. He spoke of interviewing a 15-year-old Bahamian girl with “no resources,” who was just excited by the prospect of getting a warm meal. Gutzler said she was given a drink, and wanting to fit in, she drank it. “She then said she felt very lightheaded and dizzy, and she couldn’t control her arms and legs,” he said, alleging that Nygård then raped her.