Neither Kaiser nor I wanted to cover this follow-up to the Enquirer’s story about a masseuse accusing former Vice President Al Gore of sexual assault. We’re covering it, obviously, although I doubt much will come of this story. The details in the original story are both ridiculous and disturbing. Last year, a masseuse claimed that she was sexually assaulted by Gore at a hotel in Portland, Oregon, when she came to his room for an in-house call. The alleged incident occurred in October, 2006. In a statement to police taken in January, 2009, the masseuse said that Gore was aggressive and inappropriate in his pursuit of her, forcing her hands down his pants, rubbing up against her, and flipping her over to lay on top of her on the bed. There’s the question of why it took the woman so long to come forward, but Radar Online claims that she did report the incident to police soon after it happened and that police decided to pursue the case for some reason last year. The case was closed at that time, but has recently been reopened now that it’s received so much publicity. The massage therapist has also decided to go public with her real name and identity.

Portland police have re-opened their probe into a sexual assault case from 2006 involving former Vice President Al Gore and licensed massage therapist Molly Hagerty.

As RadarOnline.com has previously reported, the massage therapist, 54, gave a statement to police last year, in which she described an encounter with Gore at a luxury hotel in Portland, Oregon in October 2006.

Hagerty has claimed that the former Vice President repeatedly attempted to have sex with her at the hotel. In her statement, she called Gore a “crazed sex poodle.”

The Portland Police Department would not make specific comments regarding the investigation.

“Consistent with our policy regarding open investigations, the Police Bureau will not be commenting on any additional specifics regarding this case at this time,” the department said.

In a statement released Thursday, a Gore family spokesperson issued a strongly worded denial.

“Further investigation into this matter will only benefit Mr. Gore,” family spokesperson Kalee Kreider told People.

“Mr. Gore unequivocally and emphatically denied this accusation when he first learned of its existence three years ago.

“He stands by that denial.”

[From Radar]

I listened to some of the police tapes of the woman reading a statement about the alleged attack, they’re available in two parts here, and she sounds somewhat believable. It’s hard to tell, though, and it’s suspicious that she goes into so much minute detail. Some of the things she said were over the top. For instance “I surveyed the two rooms briefly to determine which offered the maximum space and warmth, etc. for a massage session. He suggested the bedroom but I chose the main room, which was larger… more room for me to move about the massage table… it had the warmth and lighting ambiance of a gas fireplace which is ideal for massaging near in the late part of October in Portland.”

Radar reports that she contradicted herself at some points in her story when the police questioned her. She also used strange colloquialisms when describing the incident, saying she called Gore a “crazed sex poodle” and a “big lummox” for instance. The most damning detail, though, is that the woman reportedly wanted to sell her story for $1 million. A friend backs up her story though and claims the masseuse is “not out for money.” The National Enquirer also denies paying her, and says they found the story through a tip.

I found her testimony strange, way too long, and kind of bragging about what a great masseuse she was. She went into such agonizing detail about minor massage and body issues. She charges over $500 an hour so she presumably knows what she’s doing. Is she telling the truth, though?

Maybe this happened, but unless the pants this woman saved have any of Gore’s seminal fluid on them we might never know. I doubt the police will figure it out, either.

Update: The print edition of the National Enquirer is more clear when it comes to the timeline of when the alleged incident was reported and why it took so long to come to light. Here’s an excerpt from their story on that. It also includes some quotes from the therapist, who chose to come forward with her real name, Molly Hagerty, and be photographed. She said “Al Gore is a pervert and sexual predator. He needs to be stopped… He turned from Mr. New Age into a pervert.”

Hagerty reported the encounter to Portland police in 2006, but after she and her attorney canceled multiple interviews, her lawyer said they would pursue the matter in civil court, and police dropped the issue.

Still seething, the woman – who had worked as a licensed massage therapist for 15 years – went back to police in 2009, and they did an extensive interview with her, which they recently released. No charges were brought against Gore – but police have indicated they would reopen the case if new evidence emerges. [Ed note: the case has been reopened, see story above.]

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, July 12, 2010]

Who knew that Britney Spears was just a good, old-fashioned crazy bitch who likes to wander around naked and try to persuade random employees to f-ck her? *Raises hand* Yes, I think we all knew that about Britney, but now one of her bodyguards is claiming that Britney did all of the above, and then some. Oh, there is also a definite confirmation of Jamie Spears’ loose-nipple fatwa too – and his mandatory, must-be-enforced panty rule. The panty rule didn’t get enforced once, and Jamie had a fit that there were new photos of Britney with her vadge hanging out, so, according to The Sun’s interview with this bodyguard “Fernando”, he had to fall on his sword and take the blame for the public state of Britney’s vadge. Oh, and Britney was always naked and yelling at people, and she was always trying to get Fernando to bone her. Oh, Britney. It’s like she’s living in the most spectacular insane asylum ever.

BRITNEY SPEARS’ top bodyguard has quit – claiming the troubled singer sexually harassed him. Ex-cop FERNANDO FLORES, 29, stormed out after allegedly facing a series of bizarre come-ons.

He told pals Britney, 28, often paraded naked in front of him and beckoned him into her bedroom. He is now considering suing her.

A pal revealed yesterday: “She was always giving him the come on and he felt if he didn’t reciprocate he could lose his job. He finally handed in his notice last week and is considering legal action.”

The friend added: “Working for Britney is tough. She’s a nightmare to deal with and her emotions are totally out of control. She runs round the house naked and yelling at staff. All her guards knew they could be removed if they looked at her the wrong way. Unfortunately for Fernando, she took a liking to him, so he was under more pressure than most. He wanted to be a good security guard and look after her but the situation became unbearable.”

The last straw came when Britney’s dad JAMIE – who is in legal control of her and can hire and fire staff – kicked off after she left her Los Angeles home without underwear. Last month Jamie banned his daughter from going out without a bra and told her security team to enforce the rule. She was then pictured leaving a Hollywood restaurant without wearing knickers.

The source revealed: “It was embarrassing to tell her to put on underwear. Some guys would do it but others were too ashamed. Jamie went mental when he saw the pictures and Fernando was made the fall guy. He was not fired but told he was to blame. He had had enough.”

The divorced dad-of-two is considering a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Britney, claiming her sexual harassment forced him out. Another ex-Britney minder, Tony Barretto, went to an LA court in 2007 complaining about the her erratic behaviour and insistence on walking around naked.

[From The Sun]

If Fernando can document any of his claims, I’m sure he has a good case. Although, as Michael K pointed out – if you accept a job for the Spears family, you should know what’s going to happen. It’s going to involve nudity, insanity, pregnancy, the Los Angeles court system, daily panty checks, a buffet of bad weaves, fro-yo, Cheetos and tragedy. But here’s a question – wouldn’t Britney’s current and former employees have confidentiality agreements? How could they not? In addition to that, I can only guess that her bodyguards totally deserve hazard pay.

NY Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams has penned a really off the rails rant on how women are unjustified in filing sexual harassment charges for basically any reason. According to Cindy, she had to deal with men laying their hands on her inappropriately and she kept her mouth shut so everyone else should too. This is an antiquated and dangerous denial of something that is illegal, invasive and has damaging life-altering effects on little girls and women. That sentence was really long winded but I’m so pissed off by this that I’m having trouble getting my damn point across.

Adams doesn’t even temper her obnoxious remarks with concern for the victims of sexual abuse nor does she try to make a distinction between sexual harassment and sexual abuse. (Not like that would make her comments any less offensive, but at least she would be trying to clarify them.) In fact one of the examples Adams gives of sexual harassment, of a doctor fondling her at the age of 10, sounds like sexual abuse. She reasons that since she was able to fend off her attackers and keep silent other women should too. God, I’m so glad that we’re no longer living in an era where that is the only acceptable way of dealing with sexual abuse. It’s sad and pathetic that old biddies like this still condemn other women for speaking out against something they felt powerless to change:

New York 1′s ex-reporter Adele Sammarco. Lost her sexual harassment case. Is left with a hefty lawyer’s bill (an unhefty lawyer’s bill doesn’t exist) and won’t be fielding TV offers unless to fix a neighbor’s set. All because her breasts were made fun of and some unwanted snake soul-kissed her, sticking his tongue down to her navel.

She’s in her 40s. Hey, we’ve all been there. Those things happened to every one us in our earlier days. But that was before the world became so litigious. We’ve each endured some too tight hug or some slob whose hand wandered where it shouldn’t.

Deal with it. That’s what we did in our younger, prettier days. Dealt with it. In some cases, sticking a pen in the guy’s lower belly and whispering politely, “Try that again, pal, and you’ll have to go to Emergency to pee,” worked just fine.

I was maybe 10. In a highly respected elderly doctor’s Upper East Side examination room. My mom had left for one second. His hands began examining what wasn’t there for examining. I pushed him away and never mentioned it to a soul. Not anybody. Until now. And I still remember his name.

I was maybe 16. The office of a theatrical agent who had a Tiffany reputation. He took me into a private room to test my voice. And what he looked to test was not my voice. I pushed him off and never mentioned it to anyone. Until now. And I still remember his name.

In whichever way we chose, we dealt with it. Calling a lawyer to say, “I’m suing because this guy laid his hands on me”? Oh, please, if that’s his only part he laid on you, get some nail extensions and inform Larry Lothario next time you’ll rake him like the leaves.

Deal with it.

Today sexual harassment’s against the law. But everything except crooked politicians and thieving bankers seems against the law. Three hardhat construction guys whistling at a girl whose dress is too low, too tight, too short could suddenly find themselves in Solitary Confinement. Our mayor outlaws whatever he doesn’t do. So, no smoking. No sugar, no salt, no carbs, no fats. One day he’ll declare sex is verboten. Until then — deal with it.

[From The NY Post]

I’m all for free speech but someone at the f’cking NY Post should have told Cindy Adams that there’s no way that they were publishing this piece. Doesn’t she have a goddamn editor, and if so, does that a**hole agree with this? This is outrageous. This is the same paper that ran an editorial cartoon comparing Obama to an ape so I guess we can’t expect much more from them.

Cindy’s sentiments remind me a lot of Helen Mirren’s statements on date rape. Mirren said that she didn’t think women could take men to court if they committed date rape and called it “one of the many subtle parts of the men/women relationship that has to be negotiated and worked out between them.” She later said that female juries on rape cases wouldn’t convict because “they’re sexually jealous.” Thank goodness that we have legal options now and that antiquated ideas like these are no longer the norm. Maybe we should feel sorry for people like Helen Mirren and Cindy Adams. Terrible things happened to them and the only way that they can make sense of it is to reason that other women should have no recourse against their attackers, either.

Earlier this week, CB covered the current situation with Steven Seagal. He’s being sued by his former “executive assistant” who claims she was sexual harassed while in Seagal’s home. For a recap of CB’s story, go here. I think, like CB, that there is probably a lot of truth to what the woman is saying, just because Seagal is one of those guys that there was also gossip about, you know? He’s always seemed like a major-league a–hole, so finding out that he hires 20-something women and tries to force himself on them isn’t shocking.

So with that in mind, some journalists over at CBS have gone digging, looking for more dirt on Seagal. They didn’t have to go very far, although from the way this is being reported, you’d think it was some exhaustive investigation. When really, they just found an old magazine interview with Jenny McCarthy. Apparently, back in 1998, Jenny was interviewed for an issue of Movieline, and she told her Steven Seagal story. It’s pretty cheesy/gross:

A bundle of sexual assault allegations against Steven Seagal are revealing what may be a long-term pattern of inappropriateness. CBS Crimesider has dug up a 1998 interview with Jenny McCarthy — who says that during a casting call for ‘Under Siege 2,’ she was asked to strip and threatened not to tell anyone.

“I go inside Seagal’s office, and he’s by himself and says, ‘Sit on my couch,” McCarthy told Movieline magazine in ’98. “Then he said, ‘Take off your dress.’ I just started crying and said, ‘Rent my Playboy video, you a–hole!’ and ran out to the car.”

CBS also reports in 1998, nine women told Penthouse magazine about their experiences of Seagal sexually harassing them. Yikes.

News recently broke that Seagal’s reality series, ‘Steven Seagal Lawman,’ will be shelved as a result of the scandal.

The lawsuit TMZ obtained Monday alleges Kayden Nguyen interviewed with Seagal to become his executive assistant. Nguyen claims she landed the job, but when she showed up for work, “Mr. Seagal had been keeping two young female Russian ‘attendants’ on staff who were available for his sexual needs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” Nguyen also claims, Seagal treated her “as his sex toy.”

According to RadarOnline, Nguyen is suing for sexual harassment, illegal trafficking of females for sex, failure to prevent sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and false representation about employment and wants more than $1 million dollars.

[From PopEater]

So basically Steven Seagal is a f-cking pig/douchebag/piece of trash. And I also find it interesting that not only did Jenny McCarthy leave when Seagal sexually harassed her, she outed him in an interview. I wonder if people took her seriously back then?

Can I tell a little story? I’ve never been sexually harassed like this at any of the jobs I’ve ever had, but I did have a harassment situation at a summer job in college that made me terribly uncomfortable. My manager was a horrible homophobic, racist bigot, and he always managed to casually slip in various terrible slurs into everyday conversation. One day (a few weeks into my new job) he was going on about f-ggot this and that, I called him on his sh-t very casually, and with an even tone, I told him that I always held the opinion that the people who used words like that in casual conversation were gay themselves, and besides that, I would appreciate it if he didn’t use that word around me anymore. He had a hissy fit! And he demoted me, trying to get me to quit, which I did, gladly. That’s my big harassment story. Of course, I also had a job where my boss always wanted to take me out to eat and acted like they were “date” situations. But I actually liked him a lot, and hey, it was a free meal. Does anyone have any good stories?

Life & Style claims that Heidi Montag wants to sue the creator of The Hills for sexual harassment stemming from a late March incident on the set of The Hills in which she claims he groped her. On the day in question, Heidi was called out by US Weekly for bringing six bodyguards with her on set and refusing to pose with her costars for a group photo. Heidi’s husband Spencer explained the incident by claiming that Heidi was sick and that she “always travels with a security team.” Now Life & Style claims that Heidi thinks she was continually sexually harassed by her boss and that’s why she brought so many guys with her to work. A “source” is telling Life & Style that Heidi plans to sue, but it doesn’t sound like she’s actually done so yet.

Life & Style can exclusively reveal that an incident at last month’s photo shoot for The Hills sparked Heidi Montag’s plan to sue show creator Adam DiVello for alleged sexual harassment.

It happened the last weekend of March, during a cast photo shoot to promote the sixth and final season of The Hills, an insider close to Heidi tells Life & Style. “Adam came up to her from behind and grabbed her with one hand on her stomach and one hand directly on her butt cheek,” the insider claims. “Heidi had six bodyguards with her. They took his hand off her and moved him away from the situation.”

Heidi refused to go ahead with the photo shoot, a move that got her labeled a diva in online reports. Heidi’s husband, Spencer Pratt, issued a statement on March 29, saying Heidi “was sick and she didn’t even want to go to that photo shoot.”

The insider tells Life & Style that Heidi claims she’d been annoyed with DiVello for a while. “Heidi started bringing security to the set because she felt Adam was getting a little creepy. He was very touchy-feely and she insisted he wouldn’t stop asking her to strip down to a bikini for scenes. Adam wasn’t on set much for six seasons until Heidi got her new boobs. And now he shows up everywhere.”

After the incident, the insider claims, “Heidi and Spencer e-mailed the production team and asked to talk about what happened. But after three weeks they’d gotten no response other than to say Heidi was allowed to bring only one bodyguard on set.

“Heidi’s been in tears about it and really upset because she says she doesn’t feel safe,” the insider continues. “Heidi says she wanted to solve the issue behind closed doors but The Hills just wouldn’t talk about it.”

Another insider says it’s been discussed on set that DiVello may use his position with the show to get close to young women, claiming, “You have to stroke his ego to get a big role on his shows.”

Meanwhile, co-star Lo Bosworth tweeted her take on the matter: “I’ll repeat it: no one is/has ever been assaulted during filming of our show. hey spiedi, do you know the definition of slander? NOT OKAY.”

[From Life & Style, received via e-mail]

I wouldn’t put it past Heidi to make something like this up. Or at least Spencer might make it up and ask Heidi to go along with it. However, all we have for now is hearsay in Life & Style. Heidi and Spencer haven’t said anything about this, although of course I suspect them of going to Life & Style with this story. As much as it pained me, I went to Heidi and Spencer’s respective Twitter accounts and they haven’t said anything about this yet. They’re sure to chime in once they wake up this morning. It’s suspicious, though, that Spencer was barred from the set for six weeks for screaming at a female producer and now we’re hearing these sexual harassment claims.

Oh, and sexual harassment is wrong and we should take these allegations seriously despite who they’re coming from etc., but I have to say something snarky about how Heidi probably couldn’t have even felt it if someone groped her on the boobs or stomach. That sh*t is pure plastic.

90s action star Steven Seagal is being sued for sexual harassment and human trafficking by a 23 year-old model who claims she responded to a job posting on Craig’s List for an executive assistant. Once she was chosen for the job, she was flown to a remote home in New Orleans where Seagal was filming his reality show. At home with Seagal, she alleges that she was subjected to several unwanted sexual advances and was forced to watch while Seagal and another assistant had sex in front of her. What’s more is that Seagal, 58, lived in the home with his wife, infant, a nanny and three other employees, one an executive assistant and the other a 19 year-old Russian model who the complainant claims was there just to meet his sexual needs. While Seagal’s lawyer says the lawsuit is fabricated and that the woman never told anyone about Seagal’s harassment, the lawsuit has her informing two different supervisors in Seagal’s company.

The lawsuit was brought by his former personal assistant, Kayden Nguyen, who is a 23-year-old former model.

The legal documents say Segal “treated Ms. Nguyen as his sex toy.”

Nguyen is suing for sexual harassment, illegal trafficking of females for sex, failure to prevent sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and false representation about employment.

The document also claims that “Mr. Seagal has been keeping two young female Russian ‘Attendants’ on staff who were available for his sexual needs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

But Seagal’s top-notch lawyer Marty Singer fired back in ferocious manner. He released this statement to RadarOnline.com:

“The lawsuit filed by Kayden Nguyen against Steven Seagal is a ridiculous and absurd claim by a disgruntled ex-employee who was fired. The claims in her lawsuit are a complete fabrication without a scintilla of truth. Steven Seagal’s attorney Marty Singer stated that “I am extremely confident this meritless lawsuit will be dismissed. Ms. Nguyen filed her lawsuit without even notifying Steven Seagal or his representatives of her alleged claims because she was aware that claims could be asserted against her based on her own conduct. Her lawsuit is nothing more than a preemptive strike by a disgruntled ex-employee.”

Singer charged Nguyen with illegal activity.

Nguyen claims that she was required “to watch as “Sasha” (Russian attendant) and Mr. Seagal performed sex acts on each other.”

Segal was working as a Reserve Deputy Chief of the Sheriff’s Office in the community of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, something he documented in his A & E reality TV show Steven Seagal: Lawman.

He used Craigslist to hire an executive/personal assistant who could also be on his reality show.

Nguyen was hired in Los Angeles, but then flown to New Orleans to live in Seagal’s house for the show.

On her first night of work, Seagal allegedly engaged in physical and sexual assault by “pushing his hands under her shirt and attemping to fondle her bare breast,” and “forcing her head against his bare chest.”

Then she claims the next morning things got even worse. He allegedly “forcibly held her legs apart.” Then “forced his hand down her pants…” The document goes into graphic detail that isn’t suitable for all audiences.

Then the suit alleges a third physical assault took place a few hours later, where “Seagal forcibly lifted Ms. Nguyen’s blouse, forced his head on her bare chest and attempted to suck her breasts and nipples. He stopped only when she ran.”

After only a few days of work, Nguyen left the house on Sunday, February 28, 2010.

Seagal, who practices Tibetan Buddhism, has six children from three different mothers.

[From Radar Online]

The legal documents for this case are available on TMZ and Radar, and they’re kind of fascinating. The fact that anyone could get away with that level of sexual abuse is sickening. One detail that isn’t in the quoted text above is that fact that the woman fled the home late one night with the excuse that she needed to meet with visiting family. Nguyen left all her possessions there, including her laptop, clothing, and makeup. When she asked for her stuff back, she was told that she would have to sign a legal document stating that she promised not to sue for sexual harassment! She refused, and still does not have any of her things. Of course it’s possible that all of this is made up by someone hoping for a fat settlement. Some of the details seem over the top. It looks pretty bad for Seagal, though, and I was convinced.

I’ve never understood what the big deal is with Entourage. It’s a show, it’s there, I tried to get through the first season. But I emphasize “tried” – it took effort. It wasn’t the worst thing I’ve watched (anything family friendly on ABC can claim that dubious prize), but I don’t see what’s so epically great about it. I find the characters just so wholly unlikeable that it isn’t worth it. When it comes to Entourage, I subscribe to the Seth Rogen line of thought.

It didn’t come as much of a surprise to me, but apparently the actors are the show are pigs. Former Playboy Playmate Irina Voronina was fired from the show – she says for rebuffing the actors’ advances. Voronina says they were constantly hitting on her and totally incapable of doing anything else. They objectified her and were impolite at very, very best. She bruised their fragile egos and got booted from the show.

Irina Voronina was once a Playboy Playmate, is a regular on Adult Swim’s first ever live action show Saul of the Mole Men on the Cartoon Network and has graced the pages of men’s mag “Perfect 10,” but the Russian model said the worst treatment she ever received was from HBO’s “Entourage” boys during a guest role earlier this year.

“They were very rude and unprofessional and I was fired from the set along with another girl,” Voronina told Tarts. “Technically we were told there wasn’t space for us to be in the shot anymore, but we knew we were fired because we weren’t nice to the actors. They just treated me like a piece of meat without any respect and every conversation would start and end with “what are you doing later?’”

The 31-year-old bikini beauty turned comedy queen said she’s worked on the show several times before but the harassment had built to a point where she simply couldn’t take it anymore.

“I decided that I was just going to be very reserved and rude and preferred never to talk to them, we wouldn’t give them the time of day or any hope of there being an after party and we did not express that we were remotely interested in hanging out with them at any point, so I guess that made them upset and bitter,” she added. “If there is a shot where we’re all in the limo and the camera is rolling, it’s us all having fun, they have their hands all over us and then when the cameras stop I expect them to reel back to being normal, but they continued the partying off camera and we made that clear.”

HBO did not respond for comment but has previously dismissed the allegation as “unfounded and unsubstantiated.”

The stereotypical “Hollywood” male experience seems to have had a lasting effect on Voronina who now advises females to go inland for a good guy. “The nicest boys are in Detroit and Dallas,” she said. “People there are not spoiled by celebrities and actually appreciate it when you shake their hand and sign a picture. Guys with good manners!”

[From Fox News’ Pop Tarts]

I think Irina is simply showing that she’s got some class by not actually naming names. I’m not familiar enough with the show to guess who the major offenders probably were, aside from Jeremy Piven. But most of the others strike me as capable of being slimy. They probably thought that because she used to be a Playmate that meant she had nothing going on upstairs and would consider it totally normal if her only interactions with them were of a sexual nature. However she wasn’t on the show as a former Playmate but as an actress.

It doesn’t sound like the worst sexual harassment I’ve ever heard of, but I get the feeling that Voronina isn’t given the most explicit examples out of a sense of decorum. Just a hunch on my part, but that’s how it reads to me. I don’t think there’s anything all that surprising about her story, but that doesn’t mean she should have known to expect it or had to put up with it.

Hopefully there’s a nice boy for her in Dallas.

Here’s Irina Voronina at the ‘Towelhead’ premiere in Los Angeles in September. Images thanks to WENN.com .

Rob Lowe was sued for sexual harassment by an ex nanny, Jessica Gibson, in April of last year. Gibson alleged that Lowe tried to get her to touch his manhood and that he and his wife openly discussed their sex lives and routinely walked around the house naked. Lowe filed a peremptory suit for defamation, saying that Gibson was trying to extort money from him.

Gibson’s story didn’t add up
I was willing to believe Gibson at first, but there were so many inconsistencies in her story, and so many people who spoke out against her, that she didn’t seem credible at all. Gibson worked for the Lowes for seven years and returned to work for them twice after she quit for the first time. She never filed any harassment complaints with her supervisor, the police, or the state department of labor. She never told her family or friends about any supposed harassment. Her mother, father, and sister all told People Magazine they were surprised by the allegations because it was the first they had heard of it.

Her sister said she was doing it for money; male employees said she hit on them
Gibson’s own sister issued a sworn statement that her sister told that she wouldn’t have sued if the Lowes would have paid her $200 they owed her. She also claimed Jessica said she was hoping for a large cash settlement. Two other employees of the Lowes, a chef and a tennis instructor, issued separate declarations in which they detailed the ways that Gibson hit on them relentlessly and tried to solicit sex. Several other employees issued declarations on the Lowes’ behalf.

As if all of that isn’t enough, Gibson was also represented by vampire celebrity attorney Gloria Allred. Allred went after the Lowes with venom, admitting that she sent over 100 requests for documents and saying she was anxious to interview them in person. “I’m looking forward to sitting eye to eye with the Lowes,” Allred said, adding that it might make them “uncomfortable.”

In a joint interview with Allred on The Today Show Gibson looked like she was trying not to crack up laughing the whole time. Allred answered most of the questions, Gibson couldn’t explain why she kept working for the Lowes for seven years if she was being harassed, and it just came across like a scam.

Not surprisingly, Gibson has finally dropped her lawsuit and the Lowes have also dropped their suit against her. It’s unknown if any money changed hands, although given everything I’ve seen I would hope that Gibson was at least forced to pay the Lowes’ legal bills.

The Lowes are being sued by another nanny, a woman named Laura Boyce who is also repped by Gloria Allred. Boyce doesn’t claim that Rob Lowe harassed her, but says that his wife, Sheryl, walked around naked and discussed her sex life in a way that made her uncomfortable. In a press conference that Allred held to introduce her new client, Allred ran the show while Boyce cried the entire time with her head down. When reporters asked Boyce a question, Allred covered her mouth so that she wouldn’t speak. That case is probably going to get thrown out too.

I’m glad to see this ended well for the Lowes, but it’s got to have been a hard, expensive battle that cost them a lot of money, time and effort. You also have to wonder what kind of effect it had on Lowe’s career. If you have a lot of sympathy for the accusers, which is natural as you wonder why people would go through all this trouble if it wasn’t true, please read through our past coverage of this and all the evidence to the contrary. I paid close attention to these cases, and it’s hard to come to any other conclusion than the fact that it was a shakedown.

Rob Lowe is shown below at Pinkberry on 1/31/09. Credit: WENN.com

Cindy Crawford’s husband, restauranteer Rande Gerber, is being sued by two ex-employees who claim he wrongfully terminated them after they refused his crude and invasive advances. Gerber’s friend George Clooney is set to defend him against the charges, claiming that he was with him the night of at least one of the incidents and that he can vouch for his whereabouts the entire time. An alibi from Clooney might not be enough to exonerate Gerber though. The National Enquirer has a quote from yet another employee who claims she was fired shortly after she refused to have sex with him in a hotel room. This is from Harmony Kubiak, an ex-employee willing to go on the record to The Enquirer. She also spoke to Star Magazine in 2004 about the incident, which allegedly happened in 2000. Gerber has been married to Cindy Crawford since 1998 and they have two children together.

Gerber… made his move when they piled into a limo with a group of his friends to drive to a strip club in the Big Easy, Kubiak told The Enquirer in an exclusive interview.

“Rande suggested I sit on his lap. We were all pretty drunk by then,” she says.

They kissed several times, and Gerber invited her back to his hotel room. But when they got to his room, the night “got kind of weird,” Kubiak said.

She said that she passed out on Rande’s bed, and when she woke up, he was wearing nothing but a towel and undressing her!

“That’s when things came to a screeching halt,” she said. “I freaked out and told him I had to leave.”

When she returned to work at Whiskey Blue, “the managers acted differently toward me,” and she was fired not long after, said Kubiak.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, May 18, 2009]

If this is true, it’s disturbing on so many levels. Not only did Gerber try to sleep with this woman when she was passed out – he also presumably arranged to have her fired for resisting his advances. This guy is cheating on his wife and he’s supposedly so aggressive about it that he sexually harasses his female employees and makes sure they’re let go if they resist. This could all be some elaborate plot to frame the guy of course, and you can’t assume that someone is guilty just because of allegations. Either way, it’s got to be upsetting for Cindy and their kids, who are 9 and 8 and may be old enough to get the gist of what’s happening. We’ll have to see how this lawsuit turns out and what kind of evidence is provided by the waitresses who got fired.

Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber are shown on 12/5/08. Credit: WENN.com

Over the weekend we heard that Cindy Crawford’s husband, Rande Gerber, was accused of sexual harassment by two different former waitresses at a restaurant he owns. One former employee at his club claims that Gerber tried to kiss her multiple times during an incident in 2008 and that he put his hand up her dress. It all looked pretty damning to Gerber, but he has at least one high profile friend who is willing to vouch for him in court. George Clooney was hanging out with Gerber on the night he’s accused of groping the women. Clooney says that he was with him the entire time and that nothing happened:

Rande Gerber’s sexual harassment lawsuit is about to get even sexier — George Clooney will take the stand. Put another way, he’s testifying against the chicks, so they may as well fold now.

Gerber, along with a couple of his employees, are being sued for sexual harassment — allegedly kissing and fondling two former waitresses. Gerber calls the claims a “blatant lie” and he’s even got witnesses to prove it — including Mr. Clooney himself.

A rep for Gerber tells us, “Mr. Gerber and Mr. Clooney are willing to take a lie detector tests to prove that the allegations against Mr. Gerber are false. Mr. Gerber will not settle this extortion case even for a single dollar and will take all actions necessary to clear his name, including filing a $10 million lawsuit for malicious prosecution once these allegations are proven false.”

Case closed.

UPDATE — Through his rep, Clooney tells us, “I was with Rande the entire night — as were a lot of people — they will all say the same thing that I’m saying. This event never happened. Period.”

[From TMZ]

I don’t know. It’s hard to claim that you were with someone the entire night and can say with certainty that they didn’t leave your side. It bodes well for Gerber that Clooney is so willing to step up and testify on his behalf, though. I usually think there’s some merit to claims like this. That’s not to say that false allegations don’t happen. In the Rob Lowe case he seems to have been railroaded by an ex employee who was looking for a quick settlement and didn’t expect him to fight back. Something similar could be happening to Gerber, but just because Clooney is saying he was with him that night doesn’t mean that the case is closed and that it was motivated by money. It’s not a simple thing to accuse someone of sexual harassment and these women deserve to have the incidents investigated.

Photo credit: WENN.com