After being sued and accused of sexual harassment and breach of contract, Shaun White has finally reached a settlement with his accuser. Who accused him of such charges? Turns out it was the former drummer of his rock band, Lena Zawaideh. According to the lawsuit, Zawaideh was the “only female member of Bad Things, a young electronic rock band founded by White, 30, who also performed as the band’s guitarist.” So far the settlement terms haven’t been disclosed.
After being sued and accused of sexual harassment and breach of contract, Olympic gold medalist Shaun White has finally reached a settlement with his accuser. Who accused him of such charges? Turns out it was the former drummer of his rock band, Lena Zawaideh. According to the lawsuit, Zawaideh was the “only female member of Bad Things, a young electronic rock band founded by White, 30, who also performed as the band’s guitarist.” So far the settlement terms haven’t been disclosed.
The accusations against the Olympian began back in May of 2016 when the former drummer sued White and his company, “alleging breach of contract for lack of payment of her $3,750 monthly retainer from September 2013 until August 2014” when she was fired at “the end of their 2014 tour.” One of her major claims at the time was that she hadn’t been “paid for some of her work.”
At the time, the lawsuit didn’t include “any sexual harassment allegations.” It wasn’t until later that she “switched attorneys and filed an amended complaint in August that added the sexual harassment claims in detail.” She claimed that White had “made vulgar sexual remarks to her and forced her to watch sexually disturbing videos, including videos sexualizing human fecal matter,” and even offered “screenshots of alleged text messages from White attached as exhibits” in the lawsuit. The amended complaint sought not only lost wages but punitive and compensatory damages as well.
When asked why she was so adamant about pursuing the case, she issued a statement saying:
“I am pursuing this case because women should not have to tolerate harassment at work. 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.”
In his defense, White “vigorously contested the suit and in February tried to compel Zawaideh to undergo a mental health examination after she claimed she suffered emotional and mental distress because of what happened.” His request was later withdrawn, however, and earlier this month one of Zawaideh’s attorney’s “filed a notice of unconditional settlement in the case and requested the case be dismissed.” Before the notice, a trial was scheduled for later this year in August in San Diego Superior Court.
So far, attorney’s on both sides of the aisle have yet to return requests for comment. Now, hoping his legal troubles are behind him, White has his sight on joining the 2018 Olympic halfpipe team that will compete in South Korea.
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