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2 weeks ago
10 [Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Mohamed Al-Fayed — the father of Princess Diana‘s boyfriend Dodi Fayed — has been accused of sexual assault and multiple rapes.
Diana and Dodi were dating when they died in a 1997 Parisian car crash. Mohamed died in September 2023 at the age of 94 — but he had faced a number of sexual assault claims before he passed, including in 1997, 2008, and 2017, the BBC reported. And what is now coming out is truly horrifying…
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According to the BBC on Thursday, five women have come forward with allegations that the late businessman raped them when they worked at the luxury London department store Harrods, which Mohamed owned from 1985 to 2010. The outlet also heard from more than 20 female staff members who claimed they were sexually assaulted during their time working for Al-Fayed, incidents that allegedly occurred in London, St. Tropez, Abu Dhabi, and Paris.
The BBC Allegations
The allegations were detailed in a new BBC documentary titled Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods out on Thursday. In the doc, evidence was shown allegedly detailing how Harrods failed to intervene and instead allegedly helped to cover up the allegations. Jeez.
Per the outlet, one woman claimed the businessman raped her at his London apartment, she shared:
“I made it obvious that I didn’t want that to happen. I did not give consent. I just wanted it to be over.”
Another claimed she was raped at his apartment when she was just a teenager, recalling:
“We were all so scared. He actively cultivated fear. If he said ‘jump’ employees would ask ‘how high.’”
Absolutely awful. Several also claimed they were forced to undergo medical examinations, such as sexual health tests, when they began working for the Egyptian billionaire.
Another woman named Sophia, who worked as his personal assistant from 1988 to 1991, said he tried to rape her on several occasions and sexually assaulted her, sharing:
“I couldn’t leave. I didn’t have a [family] home to go back to, I had to pay rent. I knew I had to go through this and I didn’t want to.”
Gemma, another personal assistant who worked for him from 2007 to 2009, alleged she was raped at his Paris pad. In the doc, she claimed that as part of her agreement to leave her job, she was forced to shred all evidence she had on Mohamed and sign an NDA for a sum of money. A shredding truck allegedly came to her lawyer’s office and an HR member from Harrods was present. WTF.
As for why these women are just speaking out, Sophia and several other victims said that his sympathetic portrayal in the later seasons of The Crown inspired them to speak out. Sophia urged, “People shouldn’t remember him like that.”
You can hear a bit from these documentary participants (below):
Press Conference
Many alleged victims also appeared at a press conference in London on Friday where they continued to open up about the “monster,” as lawyer Dean Armstrong put it.
One survivor at the conference, Natacha, said that she finally had “the opportunity and freedom to speak up” and was doing so for those who were “silenced and suffered at the hand of the predator Mohamed Al-Fayed.” Sharing her story, she recalled getting an interview for a job working for Al-Fayed, noting that she was excited and could “not believe how lucky she was.” She expressed:
“I was just 19 years old. Young, naive, and totally innocent.”
She described her boss as “clever and highly manipulative. He behaved like a father figure.” He would ask seemingly kind questions and offer up money for gifts and new clothes — hiding, at first, the true nightmare of who he was. She continued:
“Unbeknownst to me, I had walked into a lion’s den. A layer of cover ups, deceit, lies, manipulation, humiliation and gross sexual misconduct. The chairman preyed on the most vulnerable.”
She claimed she was subjected to “unnecessary and intrusive” medical exams — and never given the results. She later determined:
“In hindsight, I was being checked for purity.”
As for her interactions with Al-Fayed, she recalled private meetings that often “turned into more.” Natacha alleged:
“A forced kiss, his hands gripping your face to his lips, or pulling you down on his lap where his hands were free to explore any part of your body that he wished. […] These incidents lasted seconds but the fear instilled left me paralyzed.”
Terrible.
One night, the young woman was asked to stay late before her boss “summoned me up to his private apartment” for a work meeting — only, when she got there and the door was locked behind her, she was handed champagne and spotted “sex toys on view.” She recalled feeling “petrified” as she sat at the end of the sofa. She shared:
“My boss, the person I worked for, pushed himself on me. […] I managed to kick free and free myself. I ran towards the door. I told him I was meeting my father for dinner, that he would be worried that I was late. He just laughed at me. He composed himself and told me in no uncertain terms that I was never to breathe a word of this to anyone. […] If I did I would never work in London again and he knew where my family lived. I felt scared and sick.”
Lawyers’ Take
Lawyer Dean Armstrong didn’t mince words when describing the intensity of this icky matter, saying at the conference:
“I have never seen a case as horrific as this.”
Dean said that women who have contacted lawyers “are not alone” and a website was set up to help others come forward. As of this writing, 37 women have done so. Whoa. Claiming Mohamed was “enabled” by an unsafe work environment which Harrods “established, maintained and, we say, facilitated during his chairmanship,” the attorney shared:
“Our single aim is to seek justice for the survivors of the sexual abuses of Mohamed Al-Fayed.”
Reiterating just how serious this case is, Armstrong claimed the legal matter combined some of the “most horrific” elements of cases like Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein, and British broadcaster Jimmy Savile. He shared:
“We will say it plainly, Mohamed Al-Fayed was a monster. But he was a monster enabled by a system — a system that pervaded Harrods.”
Another lawyer on the team, women’s rights activist Gloria Allred, shared:
“I am very familiar with how powerful men use their wealth, positions and power and fame to subject women and girls to sexual abuse.”
She noted women “dreamed” of working at Harrods, but that “underneath [its] glitz and glamour was a toxic, unsafe and abusive environment,” she furthered:
“We say something was rotten at the core of Harrods.”
She called those coming forward “role models in courage,” praising:
“They know what happened. This is a teaching moment for Harrods, a teaching moment for corporations.”
Harrods’ Response
Of those that spoke out to the BBC, 14 brought civil claims against Harrods for damages, which the department store reportedly started settling in July 2023. In a press release published on Thursday in response to the doc, the store said it was “utterly appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Mohamed Al Fayed.” The statement noted:
“These were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest terms. We also acknowledge that during this time as a business, we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise.”
It continued:
“The Harrods of today is a very different organization to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010. It is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do. This is why, since new information came to light in 2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved. This process is still available for any current or former Harrods employees.”
The store concluded:
“While we cannot undo the past, we have been determined to do the right thing as an organization, driven by the values we hold today, while ensuring that such behavior can never be repeated in the future.”
Meanwhile, Tony Leeming, a former Harrods department manager of 10 years, told the BBC that he was “aware” of “the abuse of women” on the shop floor but he claimed he knew nothing of the assault or rape allegations. In response to Harrods’ “admission” that they had “failed these women,” attorney Armstrong noted in the press conference:
“It is time they took responsibility, and it is time that they set matters right. That is something they should do as soon as possible.”
This is incredibly disturbing. What a brave thing these women are doing speaking out, and we hope they’re able to get some kind of justice for this despite their alleged abuser’s passing.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via WENN/SIDEWALK]
