After the shocking resignation (or non-resignation read “Is Benzino really gone?”) of Raymond “Benzino” Scott from The Source, the former editor Kim Osario has brought forth accusations of gender discrimination and sexual harassment. Monday morning the documents were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by Osario and former Vice President of Marketing Michelle Joyce against Benzino and co-owner David Mays.
In what may be a shocker to many but karma to others, the former female staff members claim that they were constantly discriminated against on the basis of their gender. Things such as hiring, compensation, benefits, working hours, promotions and disciplined are all claimed to benefit the men more than the women. The lawsuit also claims that Benzino appointed members from his RSO crew instead of finding people fit for the job. Also if there were any shortcomings from males, the lawsuit states that the females were to blame.
Many may know that Osario was The Source’s flag holder during trying times but it may have been because she was pressured into the position rather than actually believing in the stance that she took. The suit goes on to speak of alleged sexual harassment charges and that female employees had to go as far as hiding in their offices to avoid the alleged harassment.
In a statement Osario says that “After dedicating five years to The Source, I could no longer endure the blatant gender discrimination and harassment, so I spoke up.”
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While they claim that they did bring up these issues to higher powers at the magazine, their claims were often ignored and finally resulted in both women being tossed out the front door. Osario was reportedly shown the door after she refused to pull back an email she sent regarding the wrongful treatment she received from the magazine’s male higher powers. She also claims that the work environment was hostile at times and uncomfortable.
What makes the suit even more shocking is the fact that Osario claims that Benzino pressured the editors to make slanderous articles about Hot 97’s Angie Martinez and program director Tracy Cloherty stating that they were “having sex with many entertainers and performing certain sexual acts” in order to move further in their careers.
They also claim that they had to deal with inappropriate workplace situations that dealt with their personal lives and many other sexual innuendos such as who they were dating and who would be the first man to sleep with Joyce.
The Source’s David Mays has issued a statement in response to the charges saying “…it is a fact that Osorio had sexual relations with a number of high profile rap artists during her employment as editor in chief. We also suspect that Joyce falsified health claims in an effort to attack The Source when she learned that she was going to be terminated. We look forward to our day in court on this matter.”
