According to the San Jose Mercury-News, a high-ranking female Yahoo Inc executive has been named in a sexual harassment lawsuit by an employee. Plaintiff and software engineer Nan Shi accused industry veteran Maria Zhang of forcing her to engage in oral and digital with her against her will. Zhang is known in Yahoo as the head of the company's mobile content development team.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, named Yahoo as the defendant and charged Zhang with sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and wrongful termination, Buzzfeed said.
Shi's attorney told Mercury News that the two had worked previously in a Seattle-based mobile software startup came to Yahoo when the latter purchased the startup.
The lawsuit provided graphic details of Zhang's purported wrongdoing. Shi claimed that under orders from Zhang, the plaintiff moved into the Yahoo temporary housing, and that Zhang soon followed and moved in. The harassment allegedly then took place.
"Zhang told Plaintiff she would have a bright future at Yahoo if she had sex with her. She also stated she could take away everything from her including her job, stocks, and future if she did not do what she wanted," the lawsuit stated.
When the China-born Shi was interviewed by a reporter, the software engineer had broken down into tears when she recalled the alleged assault.
"I was in a deep sleep one morning, sleeping on the sofa because she had taken my bed, when she came in without clothes on, crawled into my blanket, and woke me up, hugging me, kissing my face and neck. I woke up and got scared; I was shocked. I said, what are you doing? She said she'd liked me a long time, but I didn't feel the same toward her. I said come on, we're friends; I love you as a person, but not as a lover," Shi said.
A Yahoo spokesperson has since rejected the accusations Shi lodged against Zhang. The spokesperson said, "There is absolutely no basis or truth to the allegations against Maria Zhang. Maria is an exemplary Yahoo executive, and we intend to fight vigorously to clear her name."
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