Olsen Twins Respond to Class Action Lawsuit From 40 Interns
Unpaid internships are no fun, but 40 current and previous interns of "Full House" alumni Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are now suing the twins' Dualstar Entertainment Group for wage theft. How rude! (Sorry.)
According to USA Today, the class action suit alleges Dualstar should have paid interns minimum wage because they were doing similar jobs as paid employees without receiving any academic or vocational credit. However, the Olsens have now responded to the lawsuit, via a statement from Dualstar's rep Annett Wolf to USA Today:
As an initial matter, Dualstar is an organization that is committed to treating all individuals fairly and in accordance with all applicable laws. The allegations in the complaint filed against Dualstar are groundless, and Dualstar will vigorously defend itself against plaintiff's claims in court, not before the media. Dualstar is confident that once the true facts of this case are revealed, the lawsuit will be dismissed in its entirety."
Dualstar is the parent company of the Olsen twins' fashion labels, Elizabeth and James and The Row. The lead plaintiff in the suit, former design intern Shahista Lalani, says she was hospitalized for dehydration as a result of the internship and claims she was treated poorly by The Row's head technical designer. "She was very demanding," Lalani said. "I was doing the work of three interns. I was talking to her all day, all night. Emails at nighttime for the next day, like 10 p.m. at night." It's like working for "The Devil Wears Prada's" Miranda Priestly, for free.
This is just the latest lawsuit from former interns after the landmark "Black Swan" case, which ruled in favor of two interns who argued they should've been paid for performing administrative duties like fetching coffee and answering phones.
What do you think? Are these interns right to sue for money, credit, better treatment, etc., or do you think they're being too demanding or should've known what they were getting into?
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