From Feministing: The Source gets hit with multi-million dollar judgment in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a former editor.
Kimberly Osorio, 32, was the first woman to be named editor in chief of the hip-hop magazine. She was fired in 2005 for “poor performance” after she complained of sexual harassment, including executives watching porn, smoking pot and calling female employees bitches.
During the trial, Kenneth Thompson played a tape of a phone conversation between former Source owner Raymond Scott and a music journalist, in which he called the journalist an “ugly butch pig” and a “slut monkey.” There were also allegations of a rumor mill which suggested Osorio was bed-hopping with artists and threats of physical violence.
Last week, a jury awarded Osorio more than $15 million dollars, finding that she was fired in retaliation for complaining of sexual harassment.
I can’t make up my mind whether I want to start a post about the existance of misogyny in hip-hop. (I’m woefully underqualified to make such assessments, although I think the answer is “it exists, just like it does in every other musical genre, from nasty rock lyrics to discrimination in orchestra auditions.”
My other thought is that I worry about judgments like this reinforcing stereotypes. There is no doubt in my mind that what was going on at Source was appalling, but will that be seen as proof of “misygynistic assholes can be anywhere” or something more racist about black men?