Here’s the thing for me. I don’t think they’re necessarily trying to sweep anything under the rug or ignoring it in the hope that it just goes away never to be spoken of again.
You have to remember that this is not a case of simply terminating an employee effective immediately, dropping a statement and that’s the end of it. We’re talking about the owner. And given the type of narcissist (among other things) the owner has demonstrably proven to be, this company is likely going to be in for a nasty legal situation in terms of getting him outta there.
Granted, the optics of John and Kevin’s social posts, WKs shenanigans over on the DIS Boards and what not aren’t helping. However, my theory is, credit card situation notwithstanding (as that’s well-documented), it’s probably not legally advisable (i say this as a layperson who works in a corporate setting) to release an official statement on the behalf of the company saying “he’s being ousted because of sexual assault allegations”, especially when said allegations wouldn’t be recognized at this point as more than essentially hearsay. (Again, I say that solely from a legal standpoint. I totally believe everything Dustin and Sean has shared with us and stand with them.)
I think if they released any statement essentially acknowledging the allegations and saying this is why he’s being removed, it could give Pete ammunition to claim hearsay and slander and possibly sue Dreams/DIS, etc. for wrongful termination or wrongful ousting or what have you, and then it will be impossible to get him totally removed from the situation. And he strikes me as being just the kind of person would do that to hold on to his power over everyone. And nobody wants that. Whether people like it or not, they’re in some treacherous waters and they have to tread carefully, lest Pete’s narc rage gets triggered.
It’ll be interesting to see how all of this plays out once all ducks are in a row and the dust settles. I personally feel like they’re following some solid legal advice, but they definitely need some PR help stat.
You have to remember that this is not a case of simply terminating an employee effective immediately, dropping a statement and that’s the end of it. We’re talking about the owner. And given the type of narcissist (among other things) the owner has demonstrably proven to be, this company is likely going to be in for a nasty legal situation in terms of getting him outta there.
Granted, the optics of John and Kevin’s social posts, WKs shenanigans over on the DIS Boards and what not aren’t helping. However, my theory is, credit card situation notwithstanding (as that’s well-documented), it’s probably not legally advisable (i say this as a layperson who works in a corporate setting) to release an official statement on the behalf of the company saying “he’s being ousted because of sexual assault allegations”, especially when said allegations wouldn’t be recognized at this point as more than essentially hearsay. (Again, I say that solely from a legal standpoint. I totally believe everything Dustin and Sean has shared with us and stand with them.)
I think if they released any statement essentially acknowledging the allegations and saying this is why he’s being removed, it could give Pete ammunition to claim hearsay and slander and possibly sue Dreams/DIS, etc. for wrongful termination or wrongful ousting or what have you, and then it will be impossible to get him totally removed from the situation. And he strikes me as being just the kind of person would do that to hold on to his power over everyone. And nobody wants that. Whether people like it or not, they’re in some treacherous waters and they have to tread carefully, lest Pete’s narc rage gets triggered.
It’ll be interesting to see how all of this plays out once all ducks are in a row and the dust settles. I personally feel like they’re following some solid legal advice, but they definitely need some PR help stat.
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