How US attorney Gloria Allred who fought for victims of Jeffrey Epstein, R Kelly and Harvey Weinstein is taking on Mohamed Al-Fayed sex abuse claims
A famed US attorney dubbed ‘every predator’s worst nightmare’ and fought for victims of Jeffrey Epstein, R Kelly and Harvey Weinstein is now taking on the Harrods scandal.
Gloria Allred has previously been involved in a string of high-profile cases but the allegations levelled at the late billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed could become her biggest to date.
Ms Allred is representing former Harrods employees who claim they were raped and sexually assaulted by the tycoon, in what has been claimed is ‘one of the worse cases of sexual exploitation the world has ever seen.’
The lawyer said the luxury department store was a ‘toxic, unsafe and abusive environment’ under the Egyptian businessman, who died last August.
Multiple women have come forward to claim Al-Fayed sexually abused them in the Knightsbridge store and at his luxury properties in the UK and abroad.
A famed US attorney, who has been involved in a string of high-profile cases involving violence against women, is now taking on the Harrods scandal
Gloria Allred has previously fought for victims of sex trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein , child sex abuser R Kelly and rapist Harvey Weinstein
Allred, a veteran women’s rights attorney, spoke at a press conference held by lawyers on the allegations against Al-Fayed.
‘I am very familiar with how powerful men use wealth power and fame to subject women and girls to sexual abuse,’ she said before describing Al-Fayed as the ‘epitome of a serial sexual abuser’.
‘Underneath Harrods glitz and glamour was a toxic, unsafe, abusive environment. We say something was rotten at the core of Harrods.’
She added: ‘Al-Fayed’s legacy was to prey upon, denigrate, humiliate and abuse female employees for his own sexual gratification.’
Allred later shared a hug with Natacha, one of Al-Fayed’s accusers who spoke about her experience working at Harrods.
The US attorney has vast experience representing women who have suffered sexual abuse and physical violence.
She represented three victims in Weinstein‘s Los Angeles rape trial in 2022 and two of them testified against the disgraced film producer.
He was found guilty of the rape and sexual assault of Italian actress and model Evgeniya Chernyshova and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. His conviction was a watershed #MeToo moment.
Allred is now representing former Harrods employees who claim they were raped and sexually assaulted by late billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed
She shared a hug with Natacha, one of Al-Fayed’s accusers who spoke about her experience working at Harrods
Allred said her clients ‘went through a grueling, challenging and brutal cross-examination, and they did it for the cause of justice’.
She also represented several of Kelly’s victims, whose accounts were vital in the case, and two other key witnesses.
He was found guilty of nine counts of racketeering and sex trafficking by a federal jury in New York in June 2022.
Allred said ‘of all the predators that I have pursued, Mr. Kelly is the worst’.
‘Let this be a message to other celebrities who also use their fame to prey on their fans.
‘The issue is not if the law will catch up to you, the only question is when.’
The experienced attorney also represented more than 33 women who alleged they had been assaulted or harassed by Cosby in 2014.
The US attorney represented three victims in Weinstein‘s Los Angeles rape trial in 2022 and two of them testified against the disgraced film producer. Pictured: Weinstein in a Queens court on August 19
She also represented more than 33 women who alleged they had been assaulted or harassed by Bill Cosby in 2014. Pictured: Cosby in a mugshot released by the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in 2018
Allred is currently representing the sister and parents of Halyna Hutchins in a civil trial seeking damages, after the manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin (pictured) fell apart. Pictured: Baldwin gets emotional at conclusion of his manslaughter trial on July 12
He was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era and spent nearly three years at a state prison near Philadelphia before a higher court overturned the conviction and released him in 2021.
‘Even though the court did overturn the conviction, it was on technical ground,’ Allred said. It did not vindicate Bill Cosby’s conduct.’
She has previously taken on cases of violence against women including representing Nicole Brown Simpson’s family in the high-profile murder trial which saw O.J. Simpson acquitted.
Allred is currently representing the sister and parents of Halyna Hutchins in a civil trial seeking damages, after the manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin fell apart.
‘He should just have the human decency to say “I’m sorry” in a phone call or Facetime to the parents,’ the attorney said about Baldwin during a press conference.
‘This was somebody’s daughter, somebody’s sister.
‘It’s not all about Alec Baldwin. There are victims in this case. They are not celebrities – they matter.’