Lawyers for Ford Motor Co. have dredged up a plant employee’s history as a backup singer for Eminem in their fight to quash her lawsuit accusing the automaker of subjecting her to a sexually and racially hostile work environment.
Ford used plaintiff DeAnna Johnson’s past to argue that she was not as harmed by her supervisor’s conduct as her lawsuit claims, The Detroit News reported last week, citing court records.
It noted that Johnson, who used the stage name “Sindy Syringe,” performed on a 2005 song about sex acts by Johnson’s husband, a rapper known as Bizarre who was a close friend of Eminem.
“Evidence that (Johnson) was no shrinking violet, unoffended by off-color language is thus relevant,” Ford attorney Thomas Davis wrote in one filing. Davis referenced testimony from Johnson’s supervisor saying Johnson “used highly offensive language herself and bragged about it to co-workers, which undercuts her claims of a subjectively hostile environment.”
The suit, filed in 2019, alleges that Johnson’s supervisor at the Dearborn Truck Plant called her a “chocolate Jolly Rancher” and solicited sex and nude photos from her and other workers.
Ford says it investigated Johnson’s complaints and fired the supervisor.
“We typically don’t comment on personnel-related matters, but the evidence in this case clearly establishes that Ford took Ms. Johnson’s complaints seriously and acted on them promptly when they were reported,” a company spokesman told the News.
The judge hearing the case agreed last week with Ford’s contention that lyrics from songs Johnson performed on are relevant and said they can be raised during a trial scheduled to begin in September.