Philip Green ‘grope victim’ ‘told to put up with behaviour to get tip’
Fitness instructor who claims Sir Philip Green tried to grope her says bosses told her to expect a tip if she ‘dealt with’ his behaviour
- Jennifer McAmis alleges that the Topshop boss repeatedly tried to fondle her
- She said she had 60 hours of private classes with the tycoon at exclusive resort
- She said she did not receive a tip from Green, who is worth £950million
A fitness instructor who claims she was groped by Sir Philip Green says her boss told her: ‘If you deal with it he will probably tip you.’
Jennifer McAmis alleges that the Topshop boss repeatedly tried to fondle her during one-on-one gym sessions.
Miss McAmis said she had 60 hours of private classes with the tycoon while working at an exclusive US resort. She said she did not receive a tip from Green, who is worth £950million.
Jennifer McAmis alleges that the Topshop boss repeatedly tried to fondle her during one-on-one gym sessions
Green (pictured on tennis courts in Tuscon, Arizona) categorically denies any wrongdoing or impropriety. But Miss McAmis claims that at least five trainers told her that Green had tried to fondle them
Miss McAmis, 30, said she did most of Green’s sessions during spring 2016 because she was the only female instructor at the Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, who would put up with him. She called it ‘taking one for the team’.
Green categorically denies any wrongdoing or impropriety. But Miss McAmis claims that at least five trainers told her that Green had tried to fondle them.
This includes Pilates instructor Katie Surridge, 37, whose claims have led to Green, 67, being charged with four counts of assault by prosecutors in Arizona.
Green denies these claims. A hearing is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
Mrs Surridge – who waived her right to anonymity in February – has said that Green repeatedly and ‘vigorously’ spanked her in 2016 and touched her bottom inappropriately again in January last year. She added that Green’s behaviour made her feel ‘almost like a prostitute’.
Miss McAmis began working with Green in early 2016 at Canyon Ranch, where he also has a £2.3million home. She saw him five days a week for two-hour sessions.
Miss McAmis said she had 60 hours of private classes with the tycoon while working at an exclusive US resort
Miss McAmis began working with Green in early 2016 at Canyon Ranch, where he also has a £2.3million home. She saw him five days a week for two-hour sessions
Miss McAmis said her boss warned her that Green was ‘handsy’ and ‘known for trying to grab people’s bottoms’.
She asked around in the locker room and a number of female instructors told her to ‘be on your guard’, warning: ‘Don’t wear your most low-cut shirt.’
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Miss McAmis said: ‘I just sucked it up. My bosses told me if you deal with it he will probably tip you and he never did.
‘It was laid out from the start [by the bosses], “you’re going to do this and you’re going to deal with this otherwise you’re not only going to not get paid for those hours”, [along with] probably more negative repercussions.’
Miss McAmis described Green as ‘grabby’ and said that within the first hour he made her stand in front of him on the treadmill – making her feel like ‘eye candy’.
She claims Green would tell her: ‘You’re a naughty girl, aren’t you? You’re a dirty girl, aren’t you?’
Miss McAmis took to wearing multiple jackets because they made her feel safer and asked male colleagues to sit in on the sessions.
Green has been accused by Pilates coach Katie Surridge of ‘vigorously’ spanking her’ in 2016
She also said she agreed to continue with the sessions because she didn’t want to ‘put one of [her] co-workers through that experience’.
She added: ‘Also, I needed to get paid at the end of the day. It was a grin-and-bear-it, no-way-out situation.’
The rate at Canyon Ranch was $40 (£31) an hour for a private session – three times what she could get at an outside gym.
Miss McAmis said that the attitude at the resort towards staff was ‘look how lucky you are’.
She described Green’s comments to her as having a ‘sort of cheesy, flirty air’ which was ‘not warranted’ and ‘not reciprocated’.
She said: ‘It was just what he did. I think it speaks so much to the bigger picture of things.
‘It wasn’t an isolated incident, it wasn’t anything about me, it was just how he’s used to interacting with women and especially women who are working for him and with him.
He’s used to being in a position [where] he can do anything he wants and he continues doing that.’
Miss McAmis said she wanted to speak out and be part of the MeToo movement against sexual harassment, adding that she hoped any women in the UK who have gone through similar experiences with Green would feel emboldened to make their voices heard.
Miss McAmis described Green as ‘grabby’ and said that within the first hour he made her stand in front of him on the treadmill – making her feel like ‘eye candy’
Miss McAmis, who left Canyon Ranch in 2016, said she was not going to the police with her story but she did want to see Green punished. Speaking of the other women she says Green groped at Canyon Ranch, she said that most of them were still working there.
‘It sounds like they are very distressed, they need their jobs and employment,’ she said. ‘If they have to share their experiences and to relive them and lose their job on top of that or face punishment at work, I understand why they aren’t speaking out openly.’
A Canyon Ranch spokesman said: ‘Canyon Ranch does not condone or tolerate inappropriate behaviour towards our employees, guests, homeowners or any other person who comes into contact with our brand. [We have] strict policies and procedures that prohibit such behaviour, and takes prompt, remedial action based on claims presented.’
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