Former employees say they were told to expose chests
Two former employees of the Gorilla Foundation, home to Koko the "talking" ape, have filed a lawsuit contending that they were ordered to bond with the 33-year-old female simian by displaying their breasts. Well at least now we know what he was probably talking about.
Nancy Alperin and Kendra Keller, both of San Francisco, are taking on the Woodside nonprofit and its president, Francine "Penny" Patterson. Their lawsuit, filed Tuesday in San Mateo County Superior Court, alleges sexual discrimination, wrongful termination in retaliation for reporting health and safety violations, and failure to pay overtime or provide rest breaks. It seeks more than $1 million total in damages for the two women. The suit follows complaints filed by Alperin and Keller in January with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, in which they gave identical reasons for why they were fired: "I refused to expose my breast to perform acts of bestiality with one of the gorillas."
Well, now. DO TELL...
The lawsuit goes into more detail.
All right!
One example: "On at least two incidents in mid-to-late June 2004, Patterson intensely pressured Keller to expose herself to Koko while they were working outside where other employees could potentially view Keller's naked body. ... On one such occasion, Patterson said, 'Koko, you see my nipples all the time. You are probably bored with my nipples. You need to see new nipples. I will turn my back so Kendra can show you her nipples.' "
EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!
Todd Roberts, a partner in the Redwood City office of Ropers Majeski Kohn Bentley, which is representing the Gorilla Foundation, said the law firm was still reviewing the suit. "But I can tell you that based on our review of the factual allegations and characterizations in the complaint, we deny those allegations," Roberts said.
...as opposed to taking credit for them.
A call to Patterson and the Gorilla Foundation was not returned.
Probably too busy flashing the gorillas.
The foundation, which has existed since 1976 to promote the preservation and protection of gorillas, is best known for Koko, who was born at the San Francisco Zoo on July 4, 1971, and began working with Patterson the following year. Koko -- older sister of Kubi, who presided over the zoo's Gorilla World exhibit until he died last year -- now has a vocabulary of more than 1,000 words in American Sign Language, according to foundation claims that are much debated among scientists.
What's American Sign for "big tatas"? I'll bet Koko knew.
The subject of books, videos and documentary films, the hairy linguist participated in what was called the first interspecies chat on the Internet in 1998, attracting more than 8,000 AOL users.
AOL users? Probably thought they were talking to their tech support.
San Francisco attorney Stephen Sommers, who is representing Alperin and Keller, has a transcript of that chat. "There's a history with this nipple thing," he said, leafing through the transcript and pointing out the word "nipple" -- which he'd highlighted in pink -- each time it appeared. The history, as such, might date back to Koko's mother, who reportedly did not have enough breast milk to feed her.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Always blame the mother...
The suit, in any case, says that Patterson would interpret hand movements by Koko as a demand to see exposed human nipples. She warned Alperin and Keller that their employment with the foundation would suffer, the suit says, if they "did not indulge Koko's nipple fetish."
Koko a perv. Didn't see that on those National Geographic specials.
During at least three visits, the suit says, "Patterson communicated to Alperin that exposing one's breasts to Koko is a normal component to developing a personal bond with the gorilla."
Hmmmm. San Francisco? Your female boss wants a peek at your boobs? Wonder what...ummmmmmm...persuasion, Ms. Patterson is?
The two women were fired Aug. 6. Three-month employee Alperin, 47, has returned to social work and is seeking $719,830 in damages. Four-month employee Keller, 48, a longtime sign language interpreter, is asking for $366,192. Gorilla expert Kristen Lukas, curator of conservation and science at the Cleveland Metro Park Zoo, said she'd never encountered a gorilla with a nipple fixation. "This is absolutely a first," she said. "I've never heard of anything like it."
Please refer to my previous question.