Dov Charney, the founder of American Apparel and centerpiece of endless charges about a sexified work environment, including the five instances that ended up with sexual harassment lawsuits, probably could have chosen anything but the product pictured here to stock at is stores. But rather than release a track jacket in a new color, he opted to begin selling the Hitachi Magic Wand (also available online!). As most Sex and the City viewers will note, personal massagers like this one, often sold at Brookstone or the Sharper Image store (is that even still around?), are less tools for everyday stress relief than instruments for getting off. That Mr. Charney would choose to carry these items in his stores, then, should be of little surprise to on-lookers: He has a history of masturbating in front of others. Re-live that scenario, below.

Well, because Dov Charney likes to masturbate. A lot. In front of women. And female reporters. He also has no problem walking around nude or covered by just a small towel. He also likes taking pictures of his scantily clad models. Oh… and he’s slept with his employees. He’s pretty up front about his peculiar predilections - some of the articles reproduced on the American Apparel Web site reflect his unusual behavior. As far as I know, he’s never forced anyone to do anything they didn’t want to do. In interviews, his employees describe an employer who is somewhat unusual and a little manic but who is passionate about running an ethical AND successful business. Well ethical in so far as he treats his workers. Perhaps not so ethical with regards to potentially sticky sexual harassment situations.

I bought the issue of Jane Magazine in question. Yes, Dov masturbated in front of reporter Claudine Ko. And he did other stuff.

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