Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have built a billion-dollar empire both in fashion and in entertainment since their child star days. But it seems as though the wealthy Olsen twins aren't all about sharing their profits.
A photo posted by Mary Kate Olsen (@marykateolsen__) on Nov 19, 2014 at 9:16pm PST
According to The Cut, 40 past and current interns filed a class-action lawsuit in the Manhattan Supreme Court. The lawsuit claims that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen failed to pay their interns for hours spent on "tedious tasks."
The interns are employed under Dualstar Entertainment, which is the parent company of the 29-year-old twins' fashion labels: Elizabeth and James, and The Row.
#ElizabethandJames A photo posted by Ashley Olsen (@ashleyolsen_) on Jun 17, 2015 at 11:20pm PDT
According to USA Today, "The suit argues the interns should have been paid minimum wage because they were doing similar jobs as their paid colleagues, without receiving any academic or vocational credit."
A photo posted by Mary Kate Olsen (@marykateolsen__) on Nov 19, 2014 at 9:14pm PST
The lead plaintiff named Shahista Lalani was a former design intern who was under the head technical designer of The Row for almost half a year back in 2012.
"She was very demanding. I was doing the work of three interns. I was talking to her all day, all night," Lalani recalled while noting that she had to go to the hospital at one point for suffering from dehydration.
"You're like an employee, except you're not getting paid. They're kind of mean to you. Other interns have cried. I'd see a lot of kids crying doing coffee runs, photocopying stuff," Shahista Lalani added.
Subtlety is a word we use all the time. It's about the clothes not wearing you. That's quite hard to find in fashion. I think modesty is very sexy. A photo posted by Ashley Olsen (@ashleyolsen_) on Nov 10, 2014 at 5:55pm PST
Dualstar representative Annett Wolfe said in a statement: "As an initial matter, Dualstar is an organization that is committed to treating all individuals fairly and in accordance with all applicable laws."
"The allegations in the complaint filed against Dualstar are groundless, and Dualstar will vigorously defend itself against plaintiff's claims in court, not before the media. Dualstar is confident that once the true facts of this case are revealed, the lawsuit will be dismissed in its entirety," Wolfe added.
Mary-Kate Olsen net worth is $150 million. Similar to her twin, Ashley Olsen net worth is $150 million as well.
A photo posted by Ashley Olsen (@ashleyolsen_) on Dec 14, 2014 at 10:09pm PST
