On Tuesday, the Financial Times published an exclusive story by writer Madison Marriage, who went undercover to report what really goes on inside an event known as the Presidents’ Club charity dinner at the Dorchester Hotel in London, which attracts hundreds of powerful men in business, politics, finance, and sports. It does not, however, appear to attract people particularly concerned with a few things known as #MeToo or Time’s Up.
Marriage—whose Twitter bio says is the Financial Times‘ accounting and tax correspondent—posed as a “hostess” for the evening and, according to the Financial Times, was met with over 300 tuxedo-clad men, as no women are allowed inside the event. That is, except for the 130-member hostess staff. And that staff, all required to be “tall, thin, and pretty,” were both verbally and physically harassed throughout the night. “Over the course of six hours, many of the hostesses were subjected to groping, lewd comments and repeated requests to join diners in bedrooms elsewhere in the Dorchester,” she wrote.
Other complaints Marriage heard from hostesses included how men allegedly reached up women’s skirts, and another who thought it was perfectly OK to expose his penis during the night.
Though really, Marriage noted, these actions could have been foreshadowed by a few of the charitable auction’s prizes, which included a night at a local strip club and a round of plastic surgery to “add spice to your wife.”
Even during their interviews for the gig, hostesses were reportedly told by Caroline Dandridge, founder of Artista, an agency that specializes in hiring women to staff these types of events, “Some girls love it, and for other girls, it’s the worst job of their life and they will never do it again . . . You just have to put up with the annoying men and if you can do that it’s fine.”
https://twitter.com/FinancialTimes/status/955879194365431810
Not that fine, though: As one 19-year-old recounted to Marriage, an attendee nearing his 70s outright asked her if she was a prostitute. She replied that she was not and told Marriage, “I’ve never done this before, and I’m never doing it again.” She added. “It’s fucking scary.”
Marriage also added that a security guard was stationed outside the women’s bathroom, but it wasn’t for their protection, but rather to call out any women who took too much time inside, perhaps to compose themselves after being harassed, and forced them back into the ballroom to interact with male guests.
At the end of the night, the women were paid the equivalent of—wait for it—$210 for their troubles, along with a little extra for a cab ride home. For their part, the Dorchester Hotel claims it’s unaware of the alleged actions that took place at the event, and the Presidents Club also told the Financial Times that it “recently hosted its annual dinner, raising several million pounds for disadvantaged children. The organizers are appalled by the allegations of bad behavior at the event asserted by the Financial Times reporters. Such behavior is totally unacceptable. The allegations will be investigated fully and promptly and appropriate action taken.”
Read the full story here.
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