On August 30, a former staffer at fashion house Pier 59 Studios in Chelsea Piers, New York, sued fashion photographer Federico Pignatelli for sexual harassment. That same day, Pignatelli fired back that the woman is "so unattractive, I wouldn't even dream about" sleeping with her.

Now the young woman, indignant, has brought forward photos of Pignatelli parading around European soirees with her on his arm. "I was his arm candy," she said. "If I was that embarrassing, he wouldn't have taken me to these parties."

Most people have long since come to understand that sexual aggression often has little to do with the attractiveness of its target. (However, the woman, hardly unattractive, is described as "statuesque," "shapely" and "sultry" in press reports.)

Although the fashion photographer's boorish response to the allegations has brought media attention to the case, the sexual harassment allegations are no less serious.

Former Staffer Claims Designer Offered Her Career Advancement for Sex

According to the complaint, the 35-year-old woman, who was hired as an executive assistant for 57-year-old Pignatelli, endured numerous forms of sexual harassment during her eight months on the job at Pier 59 Studios. She alleges that Pignatelli hit on her, sunbathed nude in front of her and required her to pick up women for him.

Finally, when Pignatelli promised to make her "the face of the company" and his "second in command" if he slept with her, the woman admits that she did. She now says she regrets it. "One hundred percent," she said. "It got me nowhere."

If her allegations are true, this is an example of what is known in the law as "quid pro quo sexual harassment." The Latin phrase "quid pro quo" translates approximately to "this for that," and the legal term means that a worker was offered a job-related benefit in exchange for sex. It can also mean that the worker was threatened with the denial of a job-related benefit he or she would otherwise receive.

Pignatelli's company Pier 59 released a statement describing the woman as a "disgruntled former employee who was terminated well over a year ago" and categorically denies all of the allegations.

Pignatelli himself told the New York Post that he wouldn't sleep with a woman so unattractive. The photographer, described by the New York Daily News as a "self-proclaimed Lothario," claims to be from an ancient aristocratic Italian family with ties to Pope Innocenzo XII. Pignatelli has also accused the woman of conspiring to help his ex in a contentious custody battle with him and of trying to "extort" him.

Finally, Pignatelli claims the woman was fired for cause, while she says she was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for her sexual harassment complaint. In her lawsuit, the woman is seeking $2 million.

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