Could this be a case of blind justice in the works?
Embattled casino mogul Steve Wynn has sued attorney Lisa Bloom over sexual harassment accusations leveled at him by a client of Bloom’s, saying in part that he couldn’t have leered at female dancers at his theater’s show because he’s “legally blind.”
In the suit, filed in federal court in Nevada on Thursday, Wynn says that Bloom issued a press release last month detailing the accusations made by an unidentified individual “who was a dancer for the show ShowStoppers at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas from late 2014 through late 2016.”
“Among other false statements, Defendants’ March 22 Press Release conveyed that when Mr. Wynn would attend rehearsals for ShowStoppers, the female dancers would be ‘instructed immediately to strip down to bras and panties’ so as to be sexually appealing to Mr. Wynn, who would then sit in the front row of the theatre and ‘leer’ while the female performers danced particularly ‘physically revealing’ segments of the show,” the suit continues. “The accusations in the March 22 Press Release are false and defamatory, and were published with actual knowledge of falsity.”
The defamation complaint adds, “Mr. Wynn never, directly or indirectly, instructed any dancers at any time to strip down to their bras and panties. Mr. Wynn never leered at Defendants’ unidentified client or any performer during the rehearsals he attended. When he was in his 20s, Mr. Wynn was diagnosed with a rare and degenerative eye disease, and he has been legally blind for almost two decades.”
The suit seeks damages “in an amount in excess of $75,000.”
On Thursday, Bloom issued an “updated and corrected version of a press release from a few weeks ago.”
“I represent a woman alleging workplace sexual harassment and retaliation against Wynn Resorts and Steve Wynn. She has not spoken to the media and she wishes to remain anonymous at this time,” Bloom says in the updated release. “Recently, we released her story. Mr. Wynn’s attorneys then sent us a letter denying the claims against him. In light of that, and in the interests of fairness, we are issuing this updated and corrected press release.”
The updated release adds, “It seemed to my client that these instructions [to strip down] must have come from Mr. Wynn. However, Mr. Wynn now claims that he was unaware of these instructions. We look forward to finders of fact getting to the truth of who knew what, and when, and how this was tolerated.”
Bloom’s corrected release continues, “My client perceived Mr. Wynn to be looking at the dancers in a way she considered to be leering. Mr. Wynn claims that he was legally blind at the time, and thus unable to leer at women. We look forward to finders of fact getting to the truth of this disputed issue.”
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
Here is an updated and corrected version of a press release from a few weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/6hEpKN7cvs
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) April 5, 2018