NBC Only Wants to Hire Good Looking People
/A fired NBC employee is taking legal action against the Peacock and she claims that NBC only wants to hire good looking people.
The NY Post writes that the former employee claims a recruiter who initially contacted her for a job as an audio-visual coordinator told her NBC “specifically asked for good-looking employees”— and wanted to see pictures before she could get her foot in the door.
Stephanie Belanger says the recruiter asked her “to show her Facebook/Instagram profile to NBC before she could be interviewed.”
Belanger, 25, made the claim in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court which also alleges disability discrimination, sexual harassment, and termination in retaliation after she complained.
Belanger’s supervisor, John Carleo, called her “a whore,” bragged that he had “the hottest coordinator in the office,” and referred to himself as “the boyfriend with no benefits,” the suit said.
To torment her, Carleo allegedly booked dinner reservations for himself and a date, and asked her to fix his shirt for the soiree. He finally told Belanger he had to fire her or his girlfriend would break up with him.
Belanger claims the network did nothing about her complaints. Carleo could not be reached.
At the same time, Belanger, who has epilepsy, suffered two seizures at work, one last year and one this year. She was briefly hospitalized for the disorder and treated with medication that caused “emotional outbursts.”
After the second seizure, her bosses demoted her and slashed her salary, she claimed in court papers.
Belanger declined comment, but her lawyer, Daniel Kaiser, said the company’s apparent desire for attractive employees helped create a toxic workplace, he said.
“NBC wanted good-looking employees, and she’s a very pretty girl,” he said of Belanger.
The company “wasn’t shy” about requesting the social-media photos, he added.
“Why would that be anything you would ask of someone you want to work there? Why is that on your radar at all?” he said.
An NBC spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.