Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Shaun White was sued for sexual harassment by Lena Zawaideh, former member of the Bad Things band. Zawaideh, who formed with White the band in 2008, filed the lawsuit in May but new details came out on Wednesday in court documents.
Zawaideh claims she was fired from the Bad Things band at the end of their 2014 tour after he allegedly subjected her to his “darker, misogynistic personality.” Specifically, she said that White sent her images of engorged and erect penises and forced her to view porn involving fecal matter.
In one video, the couple killed a bear and had sex on top of the dead animal, while White allegedly also forced her to watch hardcore porn featuring a priest and nun having sex, titled “Church of Fudge.”
Zawaideh, who plays drums, added that White required her to wear sexier clothes such as mesh tops. Other forms of sexual harassments she went through include an unwanted kiss from him at a 2010 Halloween party.
In a statement, the former drummer said, “I am pursuing this case because women should not have to tolerate harassment at work. Shaun White should not be allowed to do whatever he wants just because he is famous,” quoted TMZ. She added, “Although I am embarrassed to have been treated this way, I cannot sit by and watch him do this to other women.”
Deadspin published some of the lewd images which White allegedly sent to Zawaideh, including a large penis resting on the head of a smiling woman, a black male wearing an open leather jacket with genitals extending beyond his knees and an apparent Photoshopped image of the drummer wearing a mesh blouse with nothing underneath.
Commenting on the text messages, White’s representative said in a statement, “Many years ago, I exchanged texts with a friend who is now using them to craft a bogus lawsuit. There is absolutely no coincidence to the timing of her claims, and we will defend them vigorously in court.”