Following the unexpected firing of American Apparel CEO Dov Charney, video of the executive dancing naked in front of what could be two employees has gone viral on the internet.
Charney’s termination came amid turbulent times for the company’s bottom line as well as numerous allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct on the part of the CEO. Although the video was originally posted on a site called Viddme around two months ago, that falls into the roughly the same time period that American Apparel’s board began thinking about pushing the controversial executive out.
According to the New York Times, the board started “seriously considering” the idea of firing Charney six weeks ago.
In a statement, the company’s board said only that it chose to “terminate his employment as president and CEO for cause.”
As reported by Gawker, which brought the nude video to light on Thursday, a former American Apparel model confirmed it was Charney dancing around, saying, “That is 100% him.”
An ex-employee, meanwhile, stated the two women in the video either used to work for the company or are still employed there.
“I worked for AA years ago,” the unnamed employee said. “That girl in the video used to be my boss. And the girl he’s referring to, Daisy, also used to work with me. I think she still works for the co.”
Charney’s exit may have come as a shock to some, but Ken Nisch of the retail branding firm JGA told USA Today that since American Apparel has been struggling to keep its line of basic clothing in demand, it’s not surprising that the board would become less tolerant of allegations of misconduct.