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LOS ANGELES - A Hollywood agent, who helped Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie secure $15m for photographs of their newborn twins, insulted his clients and made jokes about their sexual habits, a lawsuit claims.
Todd Shemarya, whose roster includes Matthew McConaughey and Christina Aguilera, stands accused of subjecting former assistant, Heather Devlin, to "a constant barrage of offensive sexual, racist and religious comments" while parading naked and exposing himself to staff in his office.
In a sexual harassment and wrongful dismissal claim filed at the Superior Court in Los Angeles, Mr Shemarya is alleged to have stolen gifts intended for clients, and given "preferential treatment" to gay employees who slept with him.
Mr Shemarya, a brand agent, has strongly denied all of Ms Devlin's charges. However, its contents have nonetheless sent a shockwave through the world of celebrity management.
In the six years she worked for Mr Shemarya, Ms Devlin claims she was forced to endure "a work environment rife with sexual harassment and discrimination". Her duties included dictation from Mr Shemarya as he defecated in a toilet cubicle without a door.
She also alleges that her boss "paraded naked" around the workspace, subjected female employees to foul-mouthed abuse, and made constant sexually offensive and derogatory comments about his celebrity clients.
Mr Shemarya is alleged, in the lawsuit, to have a habit of showing staff the August 1997 edition of Playgirl magazine, which contained nude pictures of his client Brad Pitt, "so he could ridicule the size of Pitt's penis".
Another object of Mr Shemarya's alleged ire was Jennifer Aniston. He "referred to her as 'Jen Bitch'," and described Aniston's yoga instructor as her "lesbian girlfriend".
Though many of the incidents described sound like what could have passed for banter in the circles inhabited by Mr Shemarya, the lawsuit lifts the lid on the world of celebrity endorsement.
Unlike a showbusiness agent, who solicits film roles for his clients, a brand agent works to leverage their fame by setting up deals which see them showered with free luxury goods and designer brands. Yet according to the lawsuit, Mr Shemarya pocketed many gifts intended for his clients.
For example, it claims, he was able to use Pitt's name to get free goods for himself from TAG Heuer, and a discount at Prada clothing shops.
Ms Devlin claims she was fired after refusing to help secure further luxury goods.
She had also apparently fallen out with Mr Shemarya's boyfriend.
Her lawyer, Keith Fink, well-known for bringing wrongful dismissal cases against celebrities, said she was seeking unlimited damages.
But Mr Shemarya told reporters: "These are false accusations. This is a disgruntled employee who I fired about a year ago. And now she's trying to extort money."
- INDEPENDENT
