Woman Sues Forever 21 After a Video of Her Undressing Is Uploaded on Porn Sites

Forever 21 is in hot water after a woman claims that a hidden camera in the store recorded a video, which was later posted on pornography websites, of her undressing and urinating. The woman, who is a former employee and worked for the retailer in 2011, is suing the company for at least $2 million to cover “extreme emotional damages and attendant physical damages,” according to a lawsuit filed in New York in November.

The woman, who is listed under the pseudonym “Jane Doe” to protect her identity, claims that while working at Forever 21’s location at the Providence Place Mall in Rhode Island, she was secretly recorded urinating, undressing, and exposing private parts in the store’s employee locker room and restroom, which were off-limits to customers.

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The plaintiff alleges that Forever 21 did not equip the employee locker room and restroom with “any security system/security features to capture or keep a record of non-store employees and/or other unauthorized persons entering into the area,” suggesting that whoever recorded her did so with a hidden camera.

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According to the lawsuit, the woman didn’t know that she was recorded until December 9, 2016, five years after she stopped working there, when she discovered the video on multiple porn sites. She sued the company for “negligently, recklessly and wantonly allowing a person(s), whose identity is unknown to plaintiff, to enter the employee locker room and the employee restroom, located in the store.”

The lawsuit also complains that the video “has caused, and will continue to cause, great emotional distress and embarrassment to plaintiff.”

In a statement to Women’s Wear Daily, Forever 21 declined to comment on a “pending litigation,” though the company expressed its general stance on protecting the privacy of its employees.

“We want to make it clear that Forever 21 takes the privacy of our team members extremely seriously,” the statement said. “We have zero tolerance for any type of inappropriate behavior, and we are committed to making Forever 21 a safe space for all employees, without exception. We have been actively investigating this matter, which has involved law enforcement, our legal team, and national investigation teams. We are committed to our employees and will continue to search out those responsible for this heinous act.”

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The case is ongoing, so it could be months before a verdict is made—though we’re almost certain that the news may impact people interested in shopping and working at Forever 21.