Ex-Playboy Staffer: I Was Fired 'Cause I'm Gay & Gray

Playboy's former fashion director Joseph DeAcetis filed a $4 million lawsuit claiming he was fired from the magazine "because of his sexual orientation and age," the Post reports. According to the lawsuit, DeAcetis's boss, editorial director Christopher Napolitano, "referred to plaintiff and other homosexuals as 'girls' and laughed at [him] because of his enjoyment of baseball because it was not a girl sport." Napolitano was also, the lawsuit charges, upset about DeAcetis's appearance on WPIX's morning show (see video of one here), saying DeAcetis's "grey hair was visible" and that he "looked old." DeAcetis claims his work was praised by executives (including daughter of Hef Christine Hefner), but that his "duties [were] being slowly stripped away and handed over to his 27-year-old straight male assistant and a 38-year-old straight female fashion editor." Playboy tells the Post it "takes these allegations very seriously" and has been looking into the matter.

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By Jen Chung in News on April 4, 2009 6:32 PM

Comments [rss]

Snoopy

Has the corporation done a personal check on the playmates and asked them what there sexual preference was? 75% going which way?

Bernie Madoff-Goetz

One would imagine that proactively hiring gay men would be the way to go if your stock in trade is scantily-clad beauty queens and you wanted things to run efficiently without too many "distractions." In such a situation they're pretty much the closest thing to eunuchs.

Rocknrope

what kind of argument is that - he's being made fun of because he's gay, and he's rediculed because he likes baseball, because its not a "girl sport"? Does not make any sense.

tmz is evil

It DOES make sense. According to the harrassers, they found it "funny" that a male homosexual would be a fan of very male sport like "baseball" and not anything femme like figure skating or curling.

Rocknrope

Ah, got it. I was reading the phrasing of that sentence differently.

NannyState

Oooh, now who's stereotyping? Curling isn't "femme". it's very macho, and butch, and tough. Lots of big burly fat guys in polo shirts hang out with their drinking buddies watching Curling on TV and getting all weepy about their high school days when they were the dude with the broom. Likewise, not all Baseball guys are "very male": like, OMG, nobody does Filene's basement like A-Rod.

Mr Mel

I believe he was referring to hair curling.

Snoopy

You are totally correct. I see more guys patting other guys butts in football and basketball than I do in baseball.

Actually baseball is more a girl's sport than the jerk thinks. Ever watch women college softball. HOT! And if you were ever involved with Little League baseball, a good percentage of the strongest players are girls.

I sure hope Hef is having a good romp in the bed with his three blonde bimbos that are young enough to be his great grand-daughters as he responds to the situation.

tmz is evil

Wow... you guys aren't getting it!

His boss was making fun of a gay guy for liking a very "male sport" like baseball and not a more traditional female sport, like figure skating. Like, "OMFGROFLLMAO... a q**** likes basketball?" It's the same bigoted mentality that has some idiot going to a minority, "OMG, you listen to classical music? That's not what you people listen to!"

NannyState

Or is just coughing something ghastly up while a bored pretty girl in the next room texts her asian boyfriend. Hef's world revolves around his many health issues these days and even the Viagara has been declared off limits by his physicians. But I'm sure he has something cogent to say about this whole big drama.

Snoopy

What is Hugh's outlook on this situation? I realize he doesn't work for the rag anymore, but shouldn't he say something to his daughter about this?

Is Playboy still being published?

longacre

Maybe you WERE fired because you were gray, which means you probably made triple the salary of your young replacement who is just thankful to have a magazine job at the moment.