November 1, 2007
Exhibit B: Upskirt Photo of Maria Sharapova
If you've been hungering for a totally insane office lawsuit ever since the Knicks lawsuit case ended, prepare to be sated: A former senior VP-group creative director of ad agency Dentsu is suing his former employer for a hostile work environment that included demands he go to a brothel and a "crotch shot" photographs of women including tennis star Maria Sharapova.
Steve Biegel filed a lawsuit in Manhattan's U.S. District Court claiming that he and other Dentsu employees were subject to awkward and embarrassing sexual situations by CEO Toyo Shigeta. Biegel says that Shigeta recommended he and another employee have sex with prostitutes during a business trip in Prague. On a trip to Tokyo, he and two other employees were told to "climb naked into a bath with Shigeta" at a bathhouse. And Shigeta allegedly took a photograph of Maria Sharapova showing her panties while she was shooting a commercial for Dentsu client Canon; per Ad Age, "Mr. Shigeta's crotch obsession led him to pass the photo around." The photograph was included in the lawsuit as evidence.
Biegel says that he complained to HR in early 2006 and that led to deterioration in his relationship with Shigeta and Biegel's ultimate termination in November 2006. However, Dentsu claims that Biegel is trying to shake them down for money: "When Dentsu refused to yield to Mr. Biegel's unreasonable demands, he made outrageous allegations which the company has refuted."
AdAge has a PDF of the lawsuit. It's some reading.
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Mr Shigeta deserves a raise. Now thats taking initiative
Canon client Dentsu - you really mean Canon client Dentsu.
Smitty what are you trying to say?
Jeez thanks for posting that headline after business hours!!
That's a hostile work environment?
Most of the "neighborhoodies" and the newer addition"funniest.tshirts" are more provacative then that photo of some over rated Russian tennis player.
If she doesn't want to show it have some one tell her to wear a burka between sets.
I see London. I see France. I see Maria Sharapova's underpants.
I can rest in peace after that great event.
Doesn't the whole concept of a hostile sexual environment assume that women are incapable of coping with the random sexual obsessions of men? You know, because they are fragile and easily offended and should not be sullied with such things? Dude, so you were shown a picture of Sharipova's underpants and told where to score hookers. Dentsu's not settling, and you're not getting jack.
Clearly a "hostile sexual environment" has nothing to do with being fragile or easily offended but with not having an environment where you can actually ... work.
On a trip to Tokyo, he and two other employees were told to "climb naked into a bath with Shigeta" at a bathhouse.
Communal baths are a part of Japanese culture. Guy needs to lighten up.
Let the Russians and the Chinks work this out.
::sends resume to Dentsu::
If the chick sits like that in a director's chair how can you not take a picture? I'll be carrying around that mental picture all day and loving it.
#11 Hey let's cut out the racist crap okay!
Why can't my boss make suggestions like that?? Sounds like an enlightened workplace!!
Dude69,
What is racist about Russians and Chinks?
wow, you're an asshole.