The “finest strip club” in New York City was sued for $25 million for having a “toxic” work environment where dancers were reportedly pressured to have oral sex in exchange for money while the club “turned a blind eye.”
Margaret O’Sullivan and Stephanie Krauel, two former dancers, compared their supervisors to managers of brothels who disregarded assaults, illicit drug usage, and underage drinking.
The lawsuit said that dancers at the club were exposed to retribution that resulted in lost earnings of up to $2,000 per night and harassment if they complained about the workplace or the suspected prostitution.
The plaintiffs are asking for $15 million in punitive damages in addition to $10 million in compensatory damages for emotional, bodily, and professional anguish.
In the complaint brought by labor lawyers Jon Norinsberg and Bennitta Joseph against the club and its owners, O’Sullivan and Krauel are both listed as plaintiffs.
According to The Daily Beast, franchise managing partner and designated defendant Peter Feinstein previously said that Sapphire was a place for a guy to “escape and go away for a few hours, and then go back home and be a parent and a nice husband.”
According to the lawsuit, Sapphire New York “created and sustained a toxic work environment, where Sapphire dancers were coerced into servicing patrons, with any sexual act a customer desired, for a price.” Fueled by greed and the unsightly promise of “making” every man’s fantasies come true, the lawsuit reads.
Moreover, since greed always results in even worse conduct, the prostitution ring that the defendants established served as a springboard for a wide range of other illegal activities.
The complaint also claims that a hostile and hazardous work environment was concealed by the flashing lights and loud music.
The Sapphire club and its owners were accused of “committing wage breaches by designating employees as independent contractors and cheating dancers by employing pay-to-play rules, kickback schemes, and theft of gratuities,” according to the allegations.
According to the complaint, “Defendants established and sustained a work environment where a customer’s aggressive conduct was really permitted.” By doing this, the defendants implied that Sapphire’s only goal was to make as much money as possible, regardless of the law, the safety of the defendants’ dancers, or even fundamental decency, according to the court.
Instead, the club chose to ignore the hosts’ inappropriate conduct, underage drinking, and drug usage.
O’Sullivan said, “That was the most awful situation I could imagine being in.” She said that while she was there, her mental health worsened.
O’Sullivan remembered a night she was alone with a “loyal client” who was becoming frustrated as he waited for her to perform oral sex in an interview with The Daily Beast. He stormed away as she said she would only dance for him.
According to O’Sullivan, “I remember being afraid.” “Gino’s going to be upset at me,” I thought.
The complaint said that Gino, the club host, apologized profusely to the patron but shouted and was “visibly upset” with O’Sullivan.
I was in shatters, O’Sullivan said. She joined the club for less than a year before quitting due to a “complete mental collapse” that required hospitalization.
Stephanie Krauel, a former dancer who performed at the club under the stage name “Toni,” is the second former dancer named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
She told The Daily Beast, “The first year was amazing.” The second year saw a change in the situation. And it just continued growing worse and worse, just gradually.
She claims in the lawsuit that Gino had a nude guy waiting for her in a room after sending her there.
The waitress is going to be right with you guys,’ Krauel said in an interview with The Daily Beast. “Then Gino walks in.” The lawsuit claims, “Then [he] simply walks out of the room.”
She said that her work suddenly got more difficult for her when she ran from the room and refused to contact with the nude client.
Krauel recalled how often he would have a client who wanted to enter the rear room.
In order for a dancer and a client to access a private room, hosts had to provide their permission. Gino would then report back to me that the client had lost interest. A little over an hour later, I would witness the client leaving a room with one of Gino’s females.
Krauel said, “If you wanted to keep working there, you simply sort of kept your mouth quiet.”
The lawsuit’s accusations, according to a statement Gino sent to The Daily Beast, are “false, inaccurate, and utterly without substance.”
Sapphire’s lawyer Jeff Kimmel responded to the complaint by referring to it as “a series of bogus accusations simply meant to attract notoriety” in a statement to The Daily Beast.
According to Kimmel’s statement, “There are several safeguards in place to protect the safety of everyone at the Club, including a clear and obvious complaint and/or reporting mechanism allowing for anonymous reports.” The club’s first priority is the dancers’ safety, wellbeing, and happiness.
According to Kimmel, “Sapphire will aggressively fight against these false, frivolous, and defamatory charges.”
Kimmel’s statement was contested by Joseph and Norinsberg, who said that their study had shown the club’s “grave disregard to the safety and well-being” of its dancers.
They said, “We are convinced the truth will be revealed via litigation, and that Sapphire will be completely held responsible for its illegal and reprehensible actions.”
The club has numerous locations in New York City and one in Las Vegas, each with velveted walls, bottle service, and pounding music.
According to reports, customers have shaken hands with celebrities including Ice-T, Travis Scott, Busta Rhymes, and Rob Kardashian.
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