Monster Energy sued by 5 former employees over sexual harassment claims
Monster Energy was sued last year in four separate actions by five former female employees who are saying that some of the brand’s top executives sexually harassed them. All five women involved in the lawsuits spoke to Huffington Post for a story revealing the suits, published on the site on January 23.
The company’s vice president, John Kenneally, is among those accused of inappropriate behavior. In text messages obtained by Huffington Post, the 60-year-old allegedly described one woman as a “whore,” made a racially charged comment, and used the term “bitch” to describe the message’s recipient and another female employee.
Shortly after the Huffington Post reached out to Monster Energy about the allegations, Kenneally was reportedly put on paid leave for reasons “unrelated to this story,” without further explanation.
Other executives named in the suits include head of music marketing Brent Hamilton, who is awaiting trial for allegedly choking and biting his girlfriend during a business trip in 2016, and manager Phillip Deitrich, who is accused of sex discrimination and harassment.
The women claim that when they reached out to the company’s human resources department for help, they were told all information would be kept confidential. It is alleged that supervisors were then told everything. This opened the door for further bullying, harassment, and retaliation.
But Monster says the women are just “disgruntled employees.”
“The only connection is that these individuals suing Monster for money have endeavored to band together to litigate their cases in the media,” the multi-billion-dollar brand told The Huffington Post. “The cases are diverse, unrelated and do not remotely suggest a systemic environment of harassment or discrimination.”
On the contrary, the company says claims are taken “extremely seriously” and the company takes action if it finds conduct stadards have been violated.
The Daily Meal has reached out to Monster Energy, which is partially owned by Coca-Cola, for further comment.
The company is best known for its highly caffeinated drinks. Scientists recently discovered some scary side effects of the beverage and its competitors, though, so you might want to get your energy from these 8 healthy alternatives instead.
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