Apple exec who joked to employees about sleeping – Business News
Apple’s fitness chief is retiring within the wake of allegations he fostered a poisonous office and harassed employees — together with claims he as soon as joked about sleeping with an Olympic skier.
Jay Blahnik, 57, who served as Apple’s vice president of fitness applied sciences, allegedly joked during a 2021 assembly about sleeping with Olympic skier Ted Ligety, in accordance to two attendees cited by The New York Times.
He additionally allegedly urged that a member of his group secured Ligety’s participation in a fitness function by offering the Olympian a neck therapeutic massage, in accordance to accounts relayed by employees and cited by The Times.
Jay Blahnik, Apple’s former vice president of fitness applied sciences, is dealing with allegations of office misconduct. APPLE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Apple was accused of going to important lengths to defend Blahnik, who helped create fashionable fitness options on the Apple Watch and later oversaw the company’s Fitness+ service.
The company settled one sexual harassment criticism and declined to self-discipline him — whereas allegedly permitting him to stay in charge of the identical group and reporting construction tied to the complaints, in accordance to the lawsuit and worker accounts.
Blahnik has additionally been accused by a number of present and former employees of a broader sample of poisonous habits, together with making feedback about trainers’ our bodies, utilizing vulgar language about colleagues’ personal lives and joking about alleged affairs amongst employees.
A lawsuit filed in opposition to Blahnik by a former worker alleges that he sexually harassed inventive director Wil Tidman for years and pursued him romantically — then retaliated when the curiosity wasn’t reciprocated.
Olympic skier Ted Ligety was referenced in alleged remarks made during a 2021 Apple assembly. Getty Images
The criticism claims the conduct started shortly after Tidman’s 2019 rent and escalated into a “campaign of harassment and job-related retaliation.”
Blahnik is alleged to have commented on feminine trainers’ “rear ends and breasts,” in accordance to a number of employees cited by The Times.
He additionally allegedly speculated in entrance of employees that a colleague’s spouse had cheated, utilizing a vulgar time period whereas pointing to the couple’s youngster having a completely different hair shade, the report stated.
Blahnik additional fueled discomfort with jokes about employees relationships, together with quipping during a work call that a male inventive director was having an affair with one other male producer, former employees instructed The Times.
Jay Blahnik led Apple’s Fitness+ push earlier than allegations from employees surfaced. FilmMagic
The govt additionally allegedly “leered” at that very same inventive director and made personal feedback about his look.
The habits escalated in 2022, when Blahnik despatched the inventive director what colleagues described as an “inappropriate and unsettling” textual content message, in accordance to people conversant in the exchange.
After the alleged incident, the inventive director went on medical go away earlier than finally reaching a settlement with Apple, the report stated.
Blahnik’s conduct prolonged to confrontations in conferences, together with one wherein he “exploded” and yelled at worker Mandana Mofidi, in accordance to her lawsuit.
Apple’s Jay Blahnik allegedly joked to colleagues about sleeping with Olympic skier Ted Ligety, in accordance to accounts cited by The New York Times. Getty Images
Mofidi, who filed swimsuit in opposition to Apple and Blahnik in Los Angeles County Superior Court in December 2024, later described the aftermath as “incredibly isolating, humiliating — honestly, scary,” as she alleged retaliation after raising issues.
Even Apple’s inner review acknowledged issues, in accordance to the lawsuit, with HR officers allegedly describing Blahnik’s conduct as “harsh,” “unsympathetic,” and “probably demotivating,” whereas noting a number of employees had seen Mofidi crying at work.
Despite that, she was saved in the identical reporting construction, the criticism says.
Apple Watch’s Activity Rings grew to become a signature function underneath Jay Blahnik’s management. sompong – stock.adobe.com
Mofidi finally went on medical go away and was recognized with PTSD by an Apple Wellness physician, citing panic assaults, sleep disruption and different bodily signs, in accordance to the submitting.
When she sought to return on the situation she not report to Blahnik, Apple allegedly denied the request and later cut off her system entry — main to what she claims was an efficient termination.
Megan Thomas, a New York-based sexual harassment legal professional, instructed The Post the case displays a broader sample in office discrimination.
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“This case highlights a problem I call the Cinderella effect. Employers hold women to a higher standard and require them to work more, while paying them less. When they speak up, they often face retaliation,” Thomas stated.
She added that legal motion, whereas daunting, is commonly essential to drive accountability.
“It is incredibly difficult to stand up for yourself and sue your employer, but sometimes it is the only way to create real change. The reality is, if this is happening to one woman, it is happening to many. And when one woman stands up, she is not just standing up for herself, she is standing up for others too,” she instructed The Post.
Nine present and former employees described the office as “verbally abusive, manipulative and inappropriate,” with more than 10 staff taking prolonged mental health or medical go away since 2022, in accordance to the Times.
Apple has denied wrongdoing and stated an inner investigation discovered no proof to assist the claims, although the company settled one criticism alleging sexual harassment.
The Post has sought remark from Apple, Blahnik, Tidman, Ligety and Mofidi.
