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Alleged Intern Sexual Harasser Now Accused Of Demanding Blow Jobs
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Apr 17, 2014
Modified Apr 17, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Apr 17, 2014
Modified Apr 17, 2014
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Zhengzhu Liu, the former DC bureau chief of Chinese broadcast company Phoenix Satellite TV, has already made a name for himself for inadvertently getting unpaid interns the right to sue for sexual harassment. Now, Liu's back in the proverbial sex harassment suit saddle, having allegedly tried to coerce a female staffer into a "Monica Lewinsky"-esque affair because "having a sexual affair and receiving a blow job were ‘not a big deal.’" Paying lawsuit damages out of pocket, however, may seem like a slightly more pressing issue to Liu, but more on that in a minute.
The Post reports that yesterday, two Phoenix staffers and one female journalist who once sought a position with the media company filed sexual harassment suits in Manhattan Federal Court alleging they'd had to fend off unwanted advancements from Liu. Two of the women, Heidl Chang and Bingying Liu (no relation), work for the company's New York bureau. They say that Liu, who was fired from Phoenix in 2012 after racking up a few other sex harassment allegations, tried to get them to have sex with him at hotels in Midtown.
Notably, Bingying Liu alleges that Liu invoked the name of #1 White House Intern Monica Lewinsky in hopes of getting a little illicit affair action in 2011. According to the lawsuit, Liu took her to a DoubleTree hotel and tried to convince the married woman to perform a specific sexual act. "He told Ms. Liu that Bill Clinton was impeached because he lied under oath, not because of his sexual affair,” the suit reads. “He said that Monica Lewinsky gave Bill Clinton a blow job, and that a blow job is not sexual intercourse. He then said that having a sexual affair and receiving a blow job were ‘not a big deal." Bingying Liu reportedly did not acquiesce to this request, and Liu allegedly threatened to fire her. Enter, court filing.
Liu made headlines back in October, when a Manhattan judge ruled that one of his former unpaid interns, Lihuan Wang, could not sue him for sexual harassment because "the 'essential condition to the existence of an employer-employee relationship'" doesn't exist for the poor souls that toil for free. City Council has since passed a law permitting unpaid interns to sue for sexual harassment and discrimination.
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lawsuit
phoenix satellite tv
sexual harassment
Zhengzhu Liu
Rebecca Fishbein
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