Earlier today, a woman identified only as Jayne Doe II filed a lawsuit against the celebrity eatery. Alleging sexual assault and battery, gender discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to prevent discrimination and harassment, and negligent hiring and supervision, according to Fox LA. This follows a strikingly similar lawsuit filed by a 23-year-old hostess just a week earlier on September 13, in which she claims that she and her female colleagues were routinely subjected to sexual assault by both customers and managers.
According to the new suit filed against Nobu Malibu, Jayne Doe II alleges that the restaurant forces young hostesses to greet guests in revealing black uniforms, without offering any protection against "overt sexual harassment" from patrons and supervisors alike, as stated by My News LA. She is also suing a former bar manager, identified only as Marcus, for an incident that took place in December 2021. Allegedly, Marcus approached the plaintiff from behind, rubbed himself against her, and pulled her hair while whispering that he had heard she liked having her hair pulled – a claim that Doe II rejected on the spot.
Although Marcus was fired in early 2022, he was still welcomed back as a "quasi-patron" for months. Doe II says she was given less desirable shifts following her complaints about his behavior, and she, along with other employees, were afraid of encountering him during or after work hours. In fact, Jayne Doe II's lawsuit details that one of her colleagues had an emotional breakdown in September 2022 upon seeing Marcus.
Due to this hostile work environment, Doe II is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, citing ongoing mental distress, anguish, indignation, and embarrassment, as well as loss of earnings as a result of the alleged mistreatment.
