Executives of an 'Orgasmic Meditation' Startup are in Court on Charges They Forced Two Workers 'to Have Sex in Order to Relieve Tension Between Them.' And it Gets Even Weirder.
Well here's something you won't come across in your annual mandatory Sexual Harassment webinar. I mean sure, you'll find scenarios like, "Antoine and Siobhan have been working on a project that's approaching a deadline. At the end of the work day, Antoine invites Siobhan out for a drink so they can discuss it further in a way that seems flirtatious and makes her feel uncomfortable. Should she: A) Report this to their supervisor ..." But boy oh boy oh boy, you're not going to be asked to solve a workplace conundrum anything close to what the founders of OneTaste are being accused of unless you happen to be sitting on their jury this week:
Daily Mail - Executives at an 'orgasmic meditation' startup forced their staff to have sex with each other in an attempt to relieve the tension between them, a federal trial heard.
OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone, 57, and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz, 44, have each been charged with one count of forced labor conspiracy.
Witnesses who took the stand at court in New York City this week have detailed their disturbing experiences working for the 'cult-like' San Francisco based company.
One former worker, referred to only as 'Max' to protect their identity, told the court that Cherwitz sent two staff members off to have sex during a sales meeting, Courthouse News reports.
Cherwitz attributed a profit dip at the firm's NYC branch to an alleged sexual tension between the two employees, Max testified.
'I felt so sick inside. I think that was the moment when I just woke up,' Max told the court, adding that the partner of one of the workers sent off for sex had a break down while she waited for the pair to return to the room.
Daedone has also been accused of working with OneTaste's former chief technology officer Christopher Hubbard to 'seduce' an early investor, he told the court.
The ex-CEO was also accused of encouraging a female employee to 'sexually service' her former boyfriend, the court heard.
Both Daedone and Cherwitz face trial this week in New York, accused of a forced labor scheme that allegedly involved participants in OneTaste courses and employees between 2006 and 2018.
The pair provided sexually focused wellness education and events that promoted 'orgasmic meditation' and 'slow sex' – advocating female empowerment through orgasm.
But prosecutors claim they also exploited some people, by coercing them to work without pay and to perform sexual acts with OneTaste investors using cult-like tactics.
Max told the court last week how Cherwitz allegedly ordered two employees to have sex because of their apparent 'tumescence'.
'I want you guys to go have sex right now,' she told the pair, Max testified.
Their account echoed that of a woman referred to as 'Becky', who was one of the two employees allegedly sent out of the sales meeting to have sex.
Becky told the court that she did not remember specifics about the encounter, but said it was 'awkward' because the man involved was in a relationship with her friend, who had also been present at the meeting.
Pardon me for the incredibly long excerpt, but I couldn't find a single allegation to leave on the metaphorical editing room floor. Even by the standards of a startup that focuses on wellness education and events that promote "orgasmic meditation" and "slow sex," this has got to be some unorthodox methods of inspiring productivity. Granted, it's been years since I set foot in Barstool HQ. And while it seemed like a fairly loose environment compared to other media outlets, I couldn't envision Dave telling me and another employee that due to our apparent tumescence, we need to go climb Bone Mountain. If that happened, I think I'd be taking some personal time. While I'm sure said co-worker would fake her own death. Or his.
Before I go any further, these are charges, only. Accusations. Allegations. Innocent until proven guilty. Entitled to their day in cour
Anyway, here are the executives in question. Nicole Daedone:
And Rachel Cherwitz:
Who are, in case I haven't covered my ass in a couple of paragraphs, only accused and entitled to a presumption of innocence. And at the same time, are getting support online from perhaps the most unlikely direction: Right-of-center media. From a former Republican congressman who was accused of some shady sexual practices in his own right:
And the Christian right, who seem to be arguing that once the Feds are empowered to go after a company that promotes orgasms as wellness because they have "cult-like" practices, then every belief system becomes fair game. I think:
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I think I'm just going to stay agnostic on this one until more evidence comes out. Over the course of my time in the workforce, I've watched the world go from a sort of postmodern, hedonistic Mad Men culture where everyone took a job and immediately started doing assessments on who they could hook up with and work parties were just expected to turn into debauchery like it's Hef's Birthday at the Playboy Mansion. To a more morally ambiguous culture where the Toby Flendersons started pushing back on the Michael Scotts. To what's become, where every compliment and Rated PG joke can get you fired.
So that experience makes it extremely difficult to wrap my brain around an office where Becky is assigned to take Max for a ride on the F-Train right in front of her friend who's dating him like it's some sales presentation they're told to work on. All I can do to make even the slightest bit of sense of it is to sum it up this way. There is no idea so insane that some crazy, rich, white liberal MILFs somewhere won't endorse it. Allegedly.
Then I'll just go back to my philosophy that always kept me out of trouble when I actually worked around other humans. Be handsome. Be attractive. Don't be unattractive. And you can get away with anything as long as you look like Tom Brady.