Olympic gold medalist Shaun White has been accused of sexual harassment. According to the Associated Press, White’s former Bad Things bandmate Lena Zawaideh has filed documents against the athlete.
In a lawsuit filed in California Superior Court and obtained by the Associated Press, Zawaideh claims that White “repeatedly sexually harassed her, forced her to watch pornography and refused to pay her after she was fired.”
According to the AP and TMZ, Zawaideh also included screenshots of alleged text messages from White. In images of the reported text messages obtained by TMZ, White allegedly asks her to cut her hair a certain way and sends her sexually explicit and graphic images of penises. TMZ reports that Zawaideh claims White also forced her to watch videos “including videos sexualizing human fecal matter.”
In a statement to Us Weekly, White’s lawyer, Kerry Garvis Wright, says that White did send her the text messages, but that the lawsuit isn’t justified.
“Many years ago, I exchanged texts with a friend who is now using them to craft a bogus lawsuit,” White’s statement vis his attorney reads to Us. “There is absolutely no coincidence to the timing of her claims, and we will defend them vigorously in court.”
Us Weekly has reached out to White for comment.
