American Apparel Fires Sex Pest Dov Charney; Replaces Him With Female CEO
FINALLY.
It’s taken 10 years of gratuitous creeping, multiple sexual harassment suits, a lycra empire built on ethical treatment of factory workers and questionable treatment of women, and one bizarre instance of masturbating in front of a female journalist, but it’s finally happened. American Apparel’s former President and CEO Dov Charney has officially been fired.
Though he was suspended from the role earlier in the year for allegedly making an employee his “sex slave” and authorising the publication of nude photos without the woman’s consent, today’s announcement makes it official. This A-grade creeper is being replaced by a person who has presumably never shed their clothes in front of employees and waved their genitalia around. In fact, the absence of any sexual harassment suits isn’t the only thing that sets this new contender apart from top mate Dov. She’s also a woman.
“The Board of Directors of American Apparel today announced that it has appointed veteran fashion executive Paula Schneider as Chief Executive Officer, effective January 5, 2015,” the brand’s investor’s statement read this morning. “This appointment follows the termination of Dov Charney, former President and Chief Executive Officer, for cause in accordance with the terms of his employment agreement.”
If you’re wondering, this “cause” comes as the result of a six-month internal investigation into instances of alleged misconduct against President Super Creep. “Based on this investigation, the special committee determined that it would not be appropriate for Mr Charney to be reinstated as CEO or an officer or employee of the Company.”
Schneider comes to the role as the company’s first female CEO after successful stints with other major retail brands. “My goal is to make American Apparel a better company, while staying true to its core values of quality and creativity and preserving its sweatshop-free, Made in USA manufacturing philosophy,” she said.
This could well mean an end to the widely documented douchebaggery that’s become synonymous with the American Apparel brand in recent years. This includes, but is not limited to the fact that employees are chosen primarily on their looks and held to unreasonable grooming standards, and photo shoots notoriously fail the Fashion or Porn? test.
After a god-awful year that boasted their biggest sales drop in four years, and a 38 percent dive in the stocks, American Apparel has now gained more than 10 percent in the past few hours alone.
Though we don’t yet know whether this new appointment will translate to better sales or dramatic changes in branding or aesthetic, we do know that a man accused of sexual assault will no longer be plastering his name over pictures of half-naked teenage girls. So that’s definitely a step in the right direction.
