Billionaire accused of blaring Gilligan’s Island theme song non-stop to torment neighbour
Investor Bill Gross has been accused of blaring the Gilligan’s Island theme song on loop with the intention of annoying his neighbour.
The allegations come out of a legal dispute between the 76-year-old billionaire and his partner, former professional tennis player Amy Schwartz, and their Laguna Beach neighbours tech entrepreneur Mark Towfiq and his wife Carol Nakahara over an artwork.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Gross had the $1 million (£766, 405) blue glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly installed in 2019. However, issues only arose when a protective pole and netting structure was erected earlier this year, allegedly blocking Towfiq’s view from his home.
Amid the legal proceedings, the quarrel has escalated with Towfiq issuing a lawsuit that accuses Gross of blaring music at all hours in the hopes of making him drop the complaint.
Rap songs, pop tunes and most peculiarly the theme song to the 1964 sitcom Gilligan’s Island are among the tracks that Gross is being accused of playing.
Towfiq and his wife have now sued Gross and his partner, claiming harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Gross and Schwartz had previously filed their own lawsuit accusing Towfiq of "developing an obsession with them" and "peeping tom behaviours".
In response to the legal dispute, Schwartz has issued a statement that she finds the situation “very upsetting” due to her personal connection to the sculpture, which was bought for her by Gross because her mother was ill.
