Shaun White just won a gold medal. When asked about the sexual harassment lawsuit he settled in 2017, White said he wanted to focus on the current Games, not “gossip.”
In August 2016, Lena Zawaideh, the drummer in his band Bad Things, filed an amended complaint to a civil suit in San Diego stating White had sexually harassed her, sending “sexually explicit and graphic images” to her, text messages White later admitted to sending.
In May 2017, White and Zawaideh reached an undisclosed settlement.
Details of White’s sexual harassment is very disturbing:
- White sent Zawaideh images of erect penises
- White forced her to watch sexually disturbing videos, including videos sexualizing human fecal matter
- White made vulgar sexual remarks about her relationship with her boyfriend
- White stuck his hands down his pants, approached Zawaideh, and stuck his hands in her face trying to make her smell them
- White used his role as the financier of Bad Things, 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
- Zawaideh was terrified of physical violence as White would often yell at her, “I’ll f-ing slap you”
White admitted to sending the text messages that Zawaideh included as exhibits in the lawsuit.
“Many years ago, I exchanged texts with a friend who is now using them to craft a bogus lawsuit,” White said. “There is absolutely no coincidence to the timing of her claims, and we will defend them vigorously in court.”
Then he reached a settlement with her.
Click HERE To Read The Full Complaint Against Shaun White
Click HERE for screenshots of the disturbing text messages he said Zawaideh
