The son of hair care mogul Paul Mitchell has been accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit that claims he turned his late father’s company into ‘a hunting ground to find women to date and have sex with’.
Angus Mitchell, the 47-year-old co-owner of John Paul Mitchell Systems and son of the company’s founder Paul Mitchell, was sued by ex-employee Tally Rossi on Monday in California state court.
Rossi, a former media project manager at the company, claims that in September of 2015, Mitchell invited her over and gave her a glass of wine while he told her about his contentious divorce from his 21-years-younger British ex-wife Sian.
The complaint claims that Mitchell ‘grabbed [her] by the face and forcibly kissed her without her consent,’ according to The Fashion Law.
On another occasion, Rossi claims that Mitchell pressured her into taking ecstasy and ‘had sex with her,’ saying she felt she had to in order to keep her job.
Tally Rossi (left) sued Angus Mitchell (right), the 47-year-old co-owner of John Paul Mitchell Systems and son of the company’s founder Paul Mitchell, on Monday in California court
She claimed Angus Mitchell (pictured) turned his late father’s company into ‘a hunting ground to find women to date and have sex with’
Rossi worked as a media project manager at John Paul Mitchell Systems. She claims Mitchell pressured her into taking Ecstacy and having sex, and paid her $50,000 in hush money
Over the next several months, Rossi says she engaged in a sexual relationship with Mitchell until January 2016, when she broke it of and alleges she was retaliated against, including being ‘demoted and transferred’.
Two months later, in March 2016, Rossi says she met with Mitchell to discuss the situation.
Rossi claims Mitchell convinced her to have sex ‘one last time’, and feared the professional consequences if she refused.
The next day, after Mitchell ‘begged Rossi not to say anything’, he wired her $50,000, the lawsuit claims.
Rossi says that when she approached company president Luke Jacobellis a few days later about her concerns, he terminated her employment.
The lawsuit claims discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex, failure to prevent harassment or discrimination, and constructive wrongful termination all in violation of California state law.
The events of the suit date back to the time of Mitchell’s contentious divorce with Sian and a custody battle over their son Dylan, then just six months old.
Angus Mitchell is seen with his ex-wife Sian. Rossi says he plied her with wine and discussed their divorce before he ‘forcibly kissed her’
Sian Mitchell is seen with son Dylan in December 2015, during the bitter custody battle
Mitchell appears to have prevailed in the custody battle. He is seen with Dylan in November
The marriage ended with Mitchell having his personal chef serve his wife with divorce papers, a full six weeks after he had secretly filed them in court.
Sian claimed Mitchell wouldn’t stop drinking despite two trips to rehab.
She said he even smuggled vodka and red wine into her hospital room within hours of the birth, and drunkenly pulled a chair out from under her while she was pregnant. (He claimed he assistant brought the wine to celebrate with visitors.)
According to San Diego court documents Mitchell’s first trip to rehab came in 2004 when he was ordered to attend a threemonth course by a San Diego court.
The criminal file, seen exclusively by Daily Mail, shows that the hair-care tycoon was arrested in October 2003 and charged with reckless driving, DUI and one count of cocaine possession.
After pleading no contest to the charges, Mitchell, who admits in the documents that he ‘possessed cocaine in a usable quantity’ and ‘drove in a reckless manner having consumed alcohol’, was fined $1,814 and placed on probation.
He was also ordered to complete a three-month First Offender program aimed at tackling alcohol abuse and present a certificate of completion to the court.
The program, which he completed at a facility in Santa Monica close to his Pacific Palisades home, included 12.5 hours of alcohol drug education and required him to attend six meetings at Alcoholics Anonymous.
John Paul DeJoria and Paul Mitchell founded John Paul Mitchell Systems in 1980. The elder Mitchell died of pancreatic cancer in 1989.
Angus Mitchell (right) is seen with father Paul Mitchell in a family photo