Jan Roeg, a talent scout who worked for Atlantic Records under label founder Ahmet Ertegun from 1984 until the mid 00s, has sued the label and the estate of Ertegun for sexual assault, alleging that Atlantic knew about Ertegun’s misconduct and took a “laissez faire” approach when dealing with it. Rolling Stone reports that Roeg alleges Ertegun sexually harrassed and assaulted her throughout her time at the label, masturbating in front of her numerous times, forcing her head to his crotch in attempts to engage in oral sex, digitally penetrating her and, during a dinner in 1990, drugging her, resulting in her getting her stomach pumped.
Roeg also alleges that Ertegun touched her and made inappropriate comments about her, would describe her as his girlfriend, and retaliated against her rejections by withholding money she was owed. Elsewhere in the lawsuit, Roeg says that Atlantic, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, “utterly failed to engage in training or implementation of any policies or standards that would inform employees of the company’s disapproval of and how to report such conduct”. The lawsuit also states that Atlantic failed to institute any policy “that would dissuade employees from engaging in sexual misconduct” while on company premises or time.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Warner Music Group and Atlantic said that allegations of misconduct are taken “very seriously”. “These allegations date back nearly 40 years, to before WMG was a standalone company. We are speaking with people who were there at the time, taking into consideration that many key individuals are deceased or into their 80s or 90s,” the statement reads. “To ensure a safe, equitable, and inclusive working environment, we have a comprehensive Code of Conduct, and mandatory workplace training, to which all of our employees must adhere. We regularly evaluate how we can evolve our policies to ensure our work environment is free from discrimination and harassment.”
A lawyer for Ertegun’s widow Mica Ertegun said that “any claim against Mrs Ertegun is meritless and will be vigorously defended. … Mr Ertegun has been dead since 2006. Mrs Ertegun is 96 years old. We haven’t seen a complaint.”
Ertegun founded Atlantic Records with Herb Abramson in 1947. The label, and Ertegun, quickly became significant figures in the industry, signing Ray Charles in 1952 before releasing records by Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin and more.
