Shaun White Sued for Sexual Harassment by His Rock Band’s Female Drummer

Shaun White is being sued for sexual harassment by his rock band, “bad things”‘, drummer Lena Zawaideh.  

She is accusing Shaun of doing some very inappropriate things.  See the press release from Bohm Law Group who is representing Lena Zawaideh below:

Lawsuit Against Olympic Gold Medalist & Snowboard/Skateboard Star Shaun White Filed By Female Drummer Of His Rock Band, “Bad Things”: Suit Includes Graphic Allegations Of Sexual Harassment, Bad Business Practices And Failure To Pay Wages.

by Bohm Law Group

Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist and X Games Champion Shaun White is being accused of sexually harassing Lena Zawaideh, the former female drummer with his rock band, “Bad Things.” These accusations include White sending sexually explicit and graphic images to Zawaideh of engorged and erect penises, forcing her to watch sexually disturbing videos, including videos sexualizing human fecal matter, and making vulgar sexual remarks to her such as, “Don’t forget to suck his balls!” when commenting on her boyfriend.

At one point, White even stuck his hands down his pants, approached Zawaideh, and stuck his hands in her face trying to make her smell them. In addition to sexually harassing Zawaideh, White also refused to pay her contractual wages throughout 2014, and used his role to impose a strict regime over Zawaideh, including terminating Zawaideh because she refused cut her hair, wear sexually revealing clothes and underwear, and refrain from wearing red lipstick—her own personal signature.
These allegations were made in a Verified First Amended Complaint, recently filed on behalf of Zawaideh by her current attorneys, Lawrance A. Bohm and the Bohm Law Group, Inc. (NOTE: In 2014, The Bohm Law Group, Inc. obtained a $185 million verdict in San Diego Federal Court on behalf of a pregnant worker.)

The case, Zawaideh v. Shaun White Enterprises, et al., is currently pending in the Superior Court of California in San Diego County.

The First Amended Complaint, filed on August 12, 2016, alleges 15 causes of action, including sexual harassment; wrongful termination; nonpayment of wages; and breach of contract.

No trial date has yet been set in the case.

“It is shocking and appalling to see a national role model act with such disregard to women in the workplace. Considering Mr. White became famous for his long hair and snowboarder persona, who ever thought we would see the day that Shaun White terminates someone who refuses to cut her hair. This type of gender harassment and discrimination does not belong in the workplace,” said Ms. Zawaideh’s lead trial attorney Lawrance Bohm of the Bohm Law Group, Inc., who recently took over Ms. Zawaideh’s representation.

“Athletes, rock stars, and pop culture icons are not above the law. Shaun White has to play by the same rules as every other employer in the State of California. Lena had a right to be free of harassment and equal pay at work. We are going to hold Shaun White accountable for his malicious and reprehensible conduct.”

Adds Lena Zawaideh, “I am pursuing this case because women should not have to tolerate harassment at work. Shaun White should not be allowed to 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.”

ABOUT THE CASE:

Ms. Zawaideh is being represented in her case against Shaun White by Lawrance A. Bohm, Kelsey K. Ciarimboli, and Rachel E. Sauer of the California-wide Bohm Law Group, a renowned law firm – with offices in Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego – which has achieved numerous successes protecting and defending civil and workplace rights.

The First Amended Complaint alleges as follows:

** The world knows Shaun White as an Olympian, X Games legend, winner of 10 ESPY Awards, and the face of modern extreme sports. In addition to his achievements in the sporting world, White is also the founder, lead guitarist and public face of the young rock band Bad Things. However, the public face of Shaun White hides a darker, misogynistic personality.

** 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. White sent sexually explicit and graphic images to Zawaideh of engorged and erect penises, forced her to watch sexually disturbing videos, including videos sexualizing human fecal 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 Zawaideh, and stuck his hands in her face trying to make her smell them. As the financier of Bad Things, White used his role to impose a strict regime over Zawaideh, going so far as to demand that she cut her hair, wear sexually revealing clothes and underwear, and refrain from wearing red lipstick—her own personal signature.

** In January 2014, Shaun White ceased paying the members of Bad Things in an effort to “cut costs.” However, White shortly reinstated the payments to everyone—except Zawaideh—when the band could not rehearse to White’s satisfaction because of their day jobs. White told the other members of the band that he was refusing to pay Zawaideh because he believed she “did not need the money.” At the time, Zawaideh was the only female member of the band.

** The night before Bad Things’ last show of their 2014 tour, Shaun White texted Zawaideh and demanded that she cut her hair “in a new style at shoulder or above but keep your bangs.” Zawaideh refused to cut her hair because her image was extremely important to her. White was furious that his demand was not followed and refused to talk to Zawaideh the entire next day. He even demeaned her in interviews later that night.

** At the end of Bad Things’ 2014 tour, Zawaideh went home with the assumption that she was still a member of the band. After not hearing from White for some time, Zawaideh was informed by another Bad Things member that the band continued to rehearse and perform without her. Zawaideh then received a phone call from the band’s new manager who told her that “after some consideration,” White decided to part ways with her. Zawaideh was never told why she was no longer a member of the band. She also never received any of her contractual payments for 2014.

ABOUT LENA ZAWAIDEH:

Lena Zawaideh grew up in Carlsbad, California. She began playing music at the age of nine, and drums at the age of eleven. Zawaideh received her first drum set from her mother as a bribe for performing in a final ballet recital when she was eleven.

With childhood ambitions of attending Harvard Medical School, Zawaideh only discovered her ambition for being a musician in her late teens. Zawaideh draws her musical influences from Black Sabbath and the Beatles, but also likes to have her own flair and flavor in her music.

Zawaideh was one of the founding members of Bad Things in 2008, after she and Shaun White met during the 2007 San Diego Wildfires. She served as the drummer for Bad Things until 2014.

In a piece on Bad Things, Glide Magazine hailed Zawaideh as the musician that “really makes this band cool…with her red lipstick and a swinging beat, [Zawaideh helped] keep Bad Things from being just one in a million young bands trying to find their niche in the music world.”

ABOUT SHAUN WHITE:

Shaun White was born in San Diego, California. White spent his formative years riding Okemo Mountain and Bear Mountain, small ski resorts found in Ludlow, Vermont, and the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California.

White won numerous titles on his skateboard, including the overall title of Action Sports Tour Champion, and was the first person to compete in and win both the Summer and Winter X Games in two different sports.

White participated in three Winter Olympics in his career. At both the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the snowboard halfpipe event. White also participated in the Winter X Games, where he won a medal every year since 2002. White’s medal count for the winter X Games competitions stands at 18 (13 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze). White is the first male athlete in one discipline, the snowboard slopestyle, to have a quadruple win streak.

White is also the lead guitarist and founder of the the electronic rock band Bad Things, which also features former Augustana bassist Jared Palomar. The band played in one of the four Saturday headlining slots at the 2013 Lollapalooza festival, as a last minute replacement for Death Grips. Their self-titled debut album was released in January 2014.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_White

ABOUT LAWRANCE BOHM & THE BOHM LAW GROUP:

As the founder of the California-wide Bohm Law Group, Inc., Lawrance A. Bohm is a well-known trial lawyer who is most noted for winning what are believed to be the two largest single-plaintiff employment verdicts in U.S. history. Bohm achieved national fame after his first record-breaking verdict, for $167,730,488.00 in Chopourian v. Catholic Healthcare West.

In addition, Bohm has also won several other large verdicts protecting and defending civil and workplace rights. 

In 2016, the Daily Journal recognized Bohm as one of the top labor and employment lawyers in California. In 2015, The National Law Journal recognized Bohm as one of the top 50 elite trial lawyers in the country. In 2014, Bohm was named a “Super Lawyer” and became a recipient of the prestigious “Litigator Award,” given to the top 1% of lawyers. In 2013, Bohm was spotlighted in the Sacramento Business Journal’s 2013 Best of the Bar special edition.

Bohm was ranked #1 on eBossWatch 2012 list of the Nation’s Top Employment Lawyers. Also, in 2012, he was selected as one of the Daily Journal’s Top 100 Lawyers in California. Further, in 2012, Bohm was selected by the Capital City Trial Lawyers Association as Advocate of the Year. In 2010, Bohm was selected as one of the Daily Journal’s Top Labor and Employment Lawyers in California. He is also a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.