The chairman of J. Walter Thompson is facing a lawsuit concerning his constant racist and sexist slur against women, blacks and Jews. The complaint was filed by the company's top female executive.
The case was filed in the federal court in Manhattan. The complainant was JWT's Chief Communication Officer Erin Johnson against the company's chairman Gustavo Martinez. Martinez has been the chairman and chief executive officer of JWT since 2015. The company is a subgroup of the British-based WPP Plc and both were named as defendants together with Martinez.
As reported by the New York Post, Martinez said he is aware of the allegations made against him by the JWT employee which was filed in a New York federal court. He added that he wants to assure their clients and colleagues that there is no truth to the bizarre allegations and he is confident that he will be proven innocent.
According to Reuters, Martinez was born in Argentina and was the first Hispanic CEO of the global advertising agency. He was raised in Spain and can speak five languages fluently. The CEO allegedly made numerous comments about rape including one that Johnson should approach him so that he could rape him in the bathroom. He was also accused of calling airport customs agents black monkeys and apes and also complained about the number of Jews that lived in suburban New York County, Westchester, where he lives.
According to the details of the case, Johnson has been complaining repeatedly to the JWT and WPP executives in writing and in verbal form regarding Martinez's behavior but no action was taken to fix the situation. She added that the defendant retaliated and denied her of significant opportunities as well as reducing her compensation, Wall Street Journal reports.
WPP's lawyers were reportedly tasked to look into the situation, bubt they could not find any truth regarding Johnson's allegations. The case that Johnson filed seeks for unspecified back pay and punitive damages.
