Interesting article in the L.A. Times about the Friends sexual harassment case, which is based on a claim that an assistant to the staff writers was subjected to a “hostile environment” because of the writers’ sexually oriented banter. An underappreciated aspect of hostile environment law is the way it undermines the privacy interests of the alleged perpetrators; given that the plaintiff does not allege that any of the “offensive” remarks were directed at her, is it really right for the public to learn about one of the writers’ alleged proclivity for “blonde cheerleaders,” or that another writer allegedly dislikes foreplay and “is all about intercourse” (a remark, that he, not surprisingly, denies making)? For that matter, it’s even more troubling that unflattering remarks that the writers allegedly made about the stars of Friends have been made public. What did Jennifer Aniston or Courtney Cox Arquette do to deserve having these remarks publicly aired?
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