Lawsuits allege ‘sexually hostile’ culture, underpayment at Project Veritas
Employees of Project Veritas, a conservative media organization known for publishing undercover videos, filed two lawsuits Sunday alleging illegal business practices and accusing leaders of fostering a “sexually hostile work environment.”
The class-action lawsuit filed by Antonietta Zappier, Nick Gioia and Dan Schuy in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleges Project Veritas failed to pay them a minimum wage for hours they worked overtime, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Zappier additionally says she was fired by Project Veritas after she was sexually assaulted and harassed by Michael Spadone, a field director for the group, according to another lawsuit she filed in the same courthouse.
She alleged in court documents that her termination came after she “rejected Spadone’s entreaties to spend the weekend with him at his home for a sexual liaison.” She also describes a “highly sexualized” workplace and “sexually hostile work environment” at Project Veritas.
Zappier, 61, was an administrative assistant at Project Veritas for 2.5 years.
The Hill has reached out to Project Veritas for comment. In a statement to The New York Times, Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe described Zappier as a “disgruntled” former employee and called her claims “a range of made-up falsehoods.”
Project Veritas is known for undercover sting operations and so-called exposés often targeting media organizations such as CNN and The Washington Post in an attempt to paint them as biased, left-wing activists.
Project Veritas has been accused of deceptively editing videos and making exaggerated or false claims in its content.
The media group is embroiled in a legal battle with the Times over articles the newspaper published about a video accusing Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) of voter fraud, which The Times wrote was deceptive.
O’Keefe himself was raided by the FBI last year when a diary from President Biden’s daughter Ashley Biden ended up in his hands, Politico reported, although Project Veritas never published anything about the diary.
The class-action lawsuit filed Sunday alleges Project Veritas failed to pay the three former employees for overtime work, even as they worked sometimes 60 hours a week.
Even after submitting time sheets, the plaintiffs allege they were not paid for even one hour at the minimum wage rate.
In Zappier’s lawsuit, the former employee describes a toxic culture of drinking, sex and drugs at Project Veritas, alleging that “drinking on the job and drug use during the workdays and nights was rampant.”
Zappier alleges she was frequently subjected to verbal harassment from Spadone, who oversaw the “journalists” who went out in the field to capture videos.
She alleges Spadone sexually assaulted her at a December 2021 Christmas party while he was drunk and high on marijuana, according to the court documents, coming up behind her on the dance floor and touching her inappropriately.
Zappier discussed the incident with multiple colleagues, who she said “found it amusing.” She ultimately never reported the alleged assault to human resources.
The advances continued until March 2022, according to the lawsuit, when Spadone allegedly asked her out on a “sexual liaison.” Zappier declined the invitation, and, despite receiving high accolades at the job, was fired the following week.
The official reason for Zappier’s termination was a “sarcastic” voicemail she left for a caller about a year prior, which she said was dug up by Spadone’s investigative department.
Zappier also alleges Spadone made frequent sexual advances toward other women and that O’Keefe oversaw a culture at Project Veritas that objectified women.
The lawsuit said Zappier was also expected to be “on call 24/7” for O’Keefe.
“She tolerated being woken out of bed by work phone calls and driving to headquarters on no
notice at night in her pajamas in order to bring O’Keefe copies of his apartment key (since he
frequently lost his keys),” the lawsuit reads. “Plaintiff did so despite feeling unsafe at headquarters, arriving alone, with no security at these hours, because O’Keefe often received death threats.”
Zappier is seeking $7 million in emotional and punitive damages.
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