Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Filed Against Shaun White Includes Graphic Allegations

A sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Shaun White in May includes extremely graphic allegations in it.

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Complex Original

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Back in May, Shaun White's former bandmate Lena Zawaideh—who helped White start the band Bad Things in 2008 before getting booted from it in 2014—filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the extreme sports star and claimed that he "made inappropriate and sexually harassing and suggestive comments" to her during their time working together. She claimed she had text messages to prove it. She also alleged that White owed her $42,000 in back pay and asked for an unspecified amount of money in the lawsuit.

TMZ Sports followed up their initial report about the lawsuit on Tuesday by publishing some of the specific allegations that Zawaideh made in official court documents from the case, and many of them are extremely graphic. In her lawsuit, Zawaideh claims White sent her sexually explicit images of "engorged and erect penises" through text messages and showed her "videos sexualizing human fecal matter." In one instance, Zawaideh claims White forced her to watch a video of two people having sex on top of a bear after killing it, and in another, she claims White made her watch a pornographic film called Church of Fudge that featured "a priest, a nun, and fecal matter." Additionally, she claims White once put his hands down his pants, walked towards her, and then put his hands in her face and tried to "make her smell them."

TMZ Sports also published some of the text messages that Zawaideh says she received from White over the years. Several of them appear to feature NSFW photos, while others include demands from White. In one in particular, he seems to tell Zawaideh that she has to change her look by getting a haircut immediately, and on another occasion, he appears to order her not to wear conservative clothing. The texts can be found here.

"I am pursuing this case because women should not have to tolerate harassment at work," Zawaideh said in a statement released on Tuesday. "Shaun White should not be allowed to do whatever he wants just because he is famous. Although I am embarrassed to have been treated this way, I cannot sit by and watch him do this to other women."

White responded to TMZ Sports publishing the text messages on Tuesday by releasing a brief statement through his lawyer calling the lawsuit "bogus." He admitted to sending the texts that were published but said he plans to fight Zawaideh's lawsuit.

"Many years ago, I exchanged texts with a friend who is now using them to craft a bogus lawsuit," his statement said. "There is absolutely no coincidence to the timing of her claims, and we will defend them vigorously in court."

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