Rudy Giuliani is facing a lawsuit that seeks $10 million in damages from a former employee, Noelle Dunphy, who has accused the former New York City mayor of sexual assault, wage theft, and other misconduct.
Dunphy, who Giuliani hired to work on the business development side for his firm in January 2019, filed the 70-page complaint in a New York Court on May 15, 2023. Here’s what we know about the lawsuit, so far:
Rudy Giuliani is being sued in a lawsuit seeking $10 million in damages by a former employee accusing him of “sexual assault and harassment, wage theft, and other misconduct.” https://t.co/Wo3fxkGlua
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) May 16, 2023
$10 Million Lawsuit Filed Against Rudy Giuliani for Sexual Misconduct and Wage Theft
The complaint reads, as CBS News reports, “He made clear that satisfying his sexual demands —which came virtually anytime, anywhere— was an absolute requirement of her employment and of his legal representation.” It also notes that Giuliani allegedly demanded that Dunphy “work naked, in a bikini, or in short shorts with an American flag on them that he bought for her.”
In a recent statement, Giuliani’s spokesperson said that Donald Trump’s lawyer “unequivocally denies the allegations raised by Ms. Dunphy.” Ted Goodman, his spokesperson, added, “Mayor Giuliani’s lifetime of public service speaks for itself and he will pursue all available remedies and counterclaims.”
Justin Kelton, an attorney for Dunphy, told CBS News that “Mr. Giuliani is not the first powerful man accused of sexual abuse towards subordinates who attempts to smear his accuser in a discredited game of blame the victim.” Kelton added, “He will have to answer to materials and recorded statements that will be presented at trial.”
NEW | Bombshell lawsuit by former employee accuses Rudy Giuliani of demanding she perform oral sex while he talked to Trump on the phone
Noelle Dunphy shares intention to sue him.
“He often demanded oral sex while he took phone calls on speaker phone”https://t.co/YsaxTQZcr5
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) May 15, 2023
Inside The Complaint Filed By Dunphy
The complaint includes “photographs, apparent text messages between Dunphy and Giuliani and further details about her time as his employee,” as the outlet notes, and Dunphy alleges that Giuliani would frequently take performance-enhancing drugs, expose himself and tell her that he “could not do any work until ‘you take care of this'” while pointing to his genitals.
Kelton also told the publication that the controversial Giuliani was “constantly pressuring her, making sexual comments, sexual remarks, to her, about her, about himself.” When they were “supposed to be working,” Kelton said that he would, “as our client alleges, he would then grope her and try to initiate sexual contact.” Kelton went on, “She alleges that on several occasions she objected, clearly, that he did not respect those objections.”
Dunphy also claims that the politician would often pressure her into engaging in oral sex, “sometimes while on the phone with high-profile people — including, at one time, former President Trump,” the outlet reports. Giuliani allegedly told Dunphy that he “enjoyed engaging in this conduct while on the telephone because it made him ‘feel like Bill Clinton,'” as written in the complaint.
Rudy Giuliani called Noelle Dunphy ‘daughter’ during sex, Lawsuit alleges https://t.co/6KxWVos7H4
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 16, 2023
Giuliani also reportedly promised Dunphy that he would present her with a $1 million salary, but then refused to pay her. She alleges that Giuliani was in the midst of a divorce when he hired her, and supposedly told her that her pay “would have to be deferred and her employment kept ‘secret’ until the divorce proceedings finished,” according to the complaint.
In the complaint, Dunphy also alleges that the former mayor was often under the influence of alcohol when he was supposed to be working. “During this time, the work environment was regularly affected by Giuliani’s chronic alcoholism. Giuliani was rarely sober around Ms. Dunphy,” the complaint reads. It also notes, “Since he regularly drank all day and night, it became part of Ms. Dunphy’s responsibilities to fetch his alcohol and make sure that he was a “functioning alcoholic.”
Bombshell allegations are emerging against former NYC mayor and advisor to then-President Trump, Rudy Giuliani. Noelle Dunphy filed a $10M lawsuit claiming Giuliani sexually exploited her and failed to pay her when she was his director of business development from 2019-2021. pic.twitter.com/PP80oA9qcT
— Inside Edition (@InsideEdition) May 17, 2023
Giuliani also “often made outrageous comments that created and added to the hostile work environment that Ms. Dunphy was forced to endure,” while drunk, according to the complaint. While Dunphy said that she found the comments “revolting,” the lack of a formal Human Resources office and the “control that Giuliani had wielded over her as her boss and lawyer” made her feel powerless, it added.
As for Giuliani’s alleged inappropriate comments, the complaint noted that many of these were recorded, CBS News points out, including “racist, antisemitic, homophobic and fatphobic” remarks. The complaint also alleges that in recorded statements to Dunphy, Giuliani used many derogatory gendered slurs when referring to her, saying he could not “control [himself]” with her. He allegedly said, “I think of you as my daughter. Is that weird?” while engaging in sexual contact with Dunphy, as written in the complaint.
