Dov Charney just stays gross. The former American Apparel CEO recently sat down with The Guardian to discuss his new venture, Los Angeles Apparel, and though he’s much older than when he launched AA, he doesn’t appear to be much wiser.
Waxing poetic on subjects ranging from his vintage fashion inspirations to sexual assault allegations to workers’ rights, the interview offers a unique perspective on a guy that seems to still aggressively reject any notion of change, self-improvement, or past wrongdoing.
In response to a question about whether or not he regrets sleeping with coworkers at AA, Charney responded by saying, “Not at all! Sleeping with people you work with is UNAVOIDABLE!” And it only gets worse from there.
He described the past negative attention directed at his exploitative American Apparel advertisements as “fascistic and anti-woman,” passively describes himself as the victim of sexual harassment and predations and, at one point, implores the writer to try on a pair of underwear previously modeled for him by his intern.
“Yeah, [Jasmine the intern] wore this underwear in front of me,” he said. “It’s not incendiary, it’s not inflammatory, it’s totally normal.”
Other notable lowlights: he filmed the entire three-hour interview on a selfie stick. He described his 48-year-old self as an “enfant méchant.” He keeps a mattress in his office. He claimed to have had a meeting with Woody Allen that the actor/director denied having. And, he defended the Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape (“If you recorded all the things I said about women in the past 10 days it would be no different”).
While it’s undeniable that Charney has championed some great causes over the years, including domestic manufacturing and worker rights, it seems he’s still mostly that creepy dude from AA, who’s alleged sexual misconduct cost the company $8.2 million in litigation.
You can read more about it at The Guardian.
