AP News, February 2nd, 2007
A prominent Washington hairdresser who used to cut first lady Laura Bush's hair was accused Thursday of sexually harassing a former employee _ the second such lawsuit filed against him since September.
The former employee of Andre Chreky said Chreky routinely demanded sexual favors, grabbed and touched her, and made humiliating comments about her appearance and her husband's sexual prowess.
When Ronnie Barrett rebuffed him, Chreky retaliated by taking away clients and ultimately firing her, according to the complaint filed in federal court for the District of Columbia.
Lawyers for Chreky and his salon denied Barrett's allegations. Chreky is fighting similar allegations by another former employee who sued in September.
Barrett claims Chreky repeatedly told her that if she wanted to go to the White House or have contact with President Bush or his family, she would have to come to the salon early in the morning, before other employees arrived.
Barrett "understood this to be a crude sexual proposition, and a thinly veiled threat that if she wanted to advance in her career she needed to accede to his sexual demands," according to the lawsuit.
The other former employee, Jennifer Thong, said Chreky promised better work, including assigning her to the president's family, in an attempt to get her to have sex with him.
Barrett says in her suit that the advances and inappropriate comments began in 2003. She says they quickly escalated into grabbing and unwelcome touching. She was fired in December 2005.
Barrett is seeking $4 million in damages from Chreky and his salon.
A lawyer for Chreky, David J. Sullivan, said in an e-mail that Barrett's account of events "simply never happened."
"Hundreds of clients and scores of employees _ as well as Mr. Chreky's wife, who manages the salon's business _ are in and out of every square foot of the salon all day long," he said.
More than a year has passed since Chreky was the first lady's preferred stylist, but he is known to cater to the Washington elite.
