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MSnowboarding superstar Shaun White has apologised for referring to sexual harassment accusations against him as "gossip" following his gold medal win at the Winter Olympics.
White won a dramatic contest in the men's halfpipe in Pyeongchang, edging out Japan's Ayumu Hirano and Australia's Scotty James, but gave short shrift to a journalist when asked about a 2016 sexual-harassment lawsuit against him.
"Honestly, I'm here to talk about the Olympics, not gossip," White told the reporter, who quickly tried to fire in a follow-up question on White's phrasing, only to be cut off by a press officer.
White settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in May, 2017, after a female former member of his band filed a 76-page complaint against him.
The suit, filed by former Bad Things drummer Lena Zawaideh, accused White of sexual harassment, non-payment of wages and wrongful termination, including photos of sexually explicit images that White had allegedly sent to Ms Zawaideh.
The lawsuit alleged White had fired Ms Zawaideh after she refused his demand to cut her hair.
Now White has apologised for labelling the allegations a year on from the settlement as "gossip", saying he used "a poor choice of words to describe such a sensitive subject".
"I've grown as a person over the years … it's amazing how life works, twists and turns and lessons learned," he told NBC's The Today Show.
"Every experience in my life I feel like has taught me a lesson and I definitely feel like I'm a much more changed person than I was when I was younger. I'm proud of who I am today."
White initially labelled suit as 'bogus' in 2016
Warning: some of the lawsuit's claims include graphic content.
The sexual harassment lawsuit resurfaced amid White's run to gold-medal glory when an article published by Slate asked why American Olympic broadcaster NBC was not mentioning the allegations against the star athlete.
In the lawsuit, Ms Zawaideh claimed White sent her explicit text messages featuring pornographic videos and images of "engorged" and "erect" penises.
"Lena Zawaideh, the only female member in Bad Things, learned the darker side of Shaun White when he repeatedly sexually harassed her and forced his authoritarian management style on her for over seven years," the lawsuit said.
"White sent sexually explicit and graphic images to (Ms) Zawaideh of engorged and erect penises, forced her to watch sexually disturbing videos, including videos sexualising human faecal matter, and made vulgar sexual remarks to her such as, 'Don't forget to suck his balls!' when commenting on her boyfriend.
"At one point, White stuck his hands down his pants, approached (Ms) Zawaideh, and stuck his hands in her face trying to make her smell them."
When the suit was filed, White said Ms Zawaideh's claims were "bogus", and that she was only trying to get money out of him.
"Many years ago, I exchanged texts with a friend who is now using them to craft a bogus lawsuit," he said in a statement in August, 2016.
"There is absolutely no coincidence to the timing of her claims, and we will defend them vigorously in court."
Ms Zawaideh said she went along with his behaviour because "she did not want to cause problems for the band or be terminated", the suit said.
The documents allege that in March 2014, White was becoming "increasingly hostile" after failing to medal in the Sochi Olympics and took it out on Ms Zawaideh, who alleged she felt physically threatened by White.
"On a few occasions when the band was practising, White gestured that he was going to backhand (Ms) Zawaideh," the complaint says.
"He yelled out uncalled for remarks such as, 'I'll f**king slap you.' (Ms) Zawaideh was fearful that White would hit her."
White allegedly demanded drummer cut her hair
The snowboarder had also allegedly sent photos to Ms Zawaideh of risqué outfits asking if she was "cool" wearing them for performances.
In a text-message exchange revealed by the lawsuit, Ms Zawaideh alleged "White used his role to impose a strict regimen over (Ms) Zawaideh, going so far as to demand that she cut her hair, wear sexually revealing clothes and underwear, and refrain from wearing red lipstick".
The alleged exchange read as follows:
White: No just wanted to hit u up. Call time for tomorrow is 1:45 I need u to go out in the morning and have your hair cut in a new style at shoulder or above but keep your bangs. This is really important to me … Thanks
Zawaideh: Are you in your room and open to talking in person right now?
White: I'm at dinner then have to take an important call.....we've just talked about it for a while now and I think it's time.
Zawaideh: I know that you're busy, but my own image is a very important issue for me, so if we can talk in person tonight, that'll help us both out. I need you to know that I'm very confident and happy with my long hair, and that I'm not willing to cut it.
White: That's disappointing.....are u sure this is the decision u want to make....??
Zawaideh: Yes, I'm very confident in this decision.
Zawaideh: If you wanna keep discussing band style/showmanship or anything else show related, I'm always down. I feel like having more open conversations with everyone about these topics would help us out in the future.
White: No your decision to not do what I'm asking.....
In February 2017, White asked the court to compel Ms Zawaideh to undergo a mental health evaluation, but then reached a settlement with his former drummer three months later.
Questions over 'softball' treatment of White
Some publishers have questioned NBC's presentation of White as an American hero, both in the build-up to the Winter Olympics and in the immediate aftermath of obtaining his gold medal.
The Slate article that rebooted the conversation on White took aim at NBC's Super Bowl advert promoting White and its upcoming Winter Olympics coverage.
"During the Super Bowl, the network aired an ad celebrating his aim to win a third gold medal in men's halfpipe, ending the spot with a title card reading, 'Shaun White is the best of U.S.'," Josh Levin wrote.
"White is the star of NBC's Olympics show, and his victory, according to the network, would be one of the great triumphs of the Winter Games."
Deadspin lashed The Today Show's interview with White — in which he apologised for the "gossip" remark — as "softball" and "friendly".
"White's public reckoning with his past behaviour amounted to an entire broadcast dedicated to his greatness, one post-event question that he easily brushed away, and two big fat softballs from a friendly Today Show host," Deadspin's Laura Wagna wrote.
"It's hard to understand how White has remained so unscathed. He entered these Olympics as an inspiring comeback story, became a champion, and will ride off into history with his legacy and sponsorship deals intact. He's going to be totally fine."
Topics: winter-olympics, sport, united-states, korea-republic-of
First posted