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A RENOWNED hotspot known for catering to celebrity customers like Beyonce and the Kardashians is a den of harassment behind closed doors and a haven for sexual predators, a hostess alleges in a bombshell lawsuit.
A seat at the prestigious Japanese restaurant Nobu, founded by celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, and film producer Meir Teper, is sought-after by celebrities and diners alike.
The restaurant empire, with 56 locations worldwide, is known for dishing out posh entrees ranging from $20 to upward of $180 a plate.
Reservations at the famed restaurant must be made months in advance to get a chance to dine alongside the eatery’s A-list customers like Kylie Jenner, Leonardo DiCaprio, Rihanna, and Kim Kardashian.
However, behind closed doors, the restaurant’s Malibu location is under fire for allegedly failing to protect its female employees from harassment and sexual advances by managers and patrons, a lawsuit claims.
A lawsuit filed on Wednesday in California Superior Court by attorney Bernard Alexander accuses Nobu Malibu of instructing its female hostesses to “dress in skimpy clothes and brush off unwanted sexual advances.”
Read more in The U.S. Sun
“The ‘put up or shut up’ work environment has come for the sake of maintaining Nobu’s glamourous reputation and employees’ fear of losing their jobs,” Alexander claims in the lawsuit.
Plaintiff Jane Doe, a hostess at Nobu Malibu, alleges that a manager named Marcus repeatedly touched her buttocks with his hand when she was working.
On one occasion, the manager “retrained both her hands and kissed her neck after he had been drinking,” the filing claims.
Jane Doe says she and other female hostesses repeatedly complained to higher-ups about Marcus’ alleged behavior.
Nobu terminated Marcus, but he was allowed to return to the restaurant as a customer, forcing hostesses who had complained about his behavior to “work in fear” of encountering him, the lawsuit reads.
Managers at Nobu Malibu have also been accused of “granted favorable treatment to the women who provide them with sexual favors, both on the premises as well as before and after work hours,” the lawsuit claims.
“It’s a frustrating irony that Nobu caters to a Hollywood client list that routinely rallies against and cancels contemporaries who exhibit the same kind of misogynistic and exploitative behavior that Nobu’s managers seem to encourage,” Alexander said.
Male employees at the restaurant have not been forced to endure unwanted sexual advances, according to the filing.
The plaintiff is seeking at least $500,000 in damages alleging sexual assault and battery, negligent hiring and supervision, employment discrimination based on gender, harassment, and retaliation.
De Niro and Nobu Malibu did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s requests for comment.
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