Former TMZ Employee Fired For Making Claims of Sexist, Toxic Workplace

A former TMZ employee says she was fired after complaining about a sexist and toxic work environment. 

Bernadette Zilio worked at TMZ and TooFab from 2015 through the beginning part of this year. She said she was fired after she complained to HR about a culture of toxicity and sexism.

She filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. and Harvey Levin yesterday in court, and in the paperwork described the work environment as “100% a bro fest” and a “[f]reaking frat house.” 

Bernadette said she and her female colleagues were “belittled and abused, held to different and more stringent standards … denied advancement opportunities, and retaliated against when [they] resisted the sexist and misogynistic ways.”

TMZ releasing a statement through a spokesperson, saying “This is a blatant attempt to use negative publicity and inaccurate claims to force TooFab and TMZ to pay a monetary settlement. We will vigorously defend against any attempt to mischaracterize what is a legal and justified employment decision.”

Source: BuzzFeed, TMZ.

Photo Credit: Getty Images.