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Trader given a bunny costume to play 'Borat bitch' on team outing
Rashid Razaq5 Mar 2009
A City trader was made to dress up as a bunny to play one of “Borat's bitches” in a team-building exercise on a trip to Monaco.
Rosemarie Corscadden, 51, an £80,000-a-year trader, could be awarded up to £5 million from a sexual discrimination and harassment case against Cheuvreux, an equity broker that is part of the Credit Agricole group.
She claims years of sexual harassment by manager Jerry Lees wore her down and, when she eventually complained, she was subjected to “malicious” treatment and signed off work.
Today she said the bank chose a bunny costume for her to wear on a team-bonding session in Monaco. Ms Corscadden said a colleague, who cannot be named, was dressed as a woman with “loose morals” as they pretended to be “Borat's bitches”.
“These were the costumes that Cheuvreux provided for myself and a colleague to wear. When we went to get the costumes they were the only ones left,” she said.
“I wanted to keep my trousers on but I was told it would not look good and these were professional film crews. I did throw myself into the task and the videos were played to everyone in Monaco that evening.”
Ms Corscadden has claimed Mr Lees harassed and propositioned her and that he once told someone she thought was a journalist he felt he was “running a brothel” and “a team of prostitutes”. She said she knew of Mr Lees's alleged womanising nature when she joined the firm in 2004.
The bank's lawyers ridiculed her claims, saying her story was not consistent and Mr Lees's behaviour would have been “insane”. “It would have risked creating headlines of the worst possible kind for Cheuvreux and Mr Lees,” said Anya Proops.
Ms Corscadden's claims are denied. The hearing continues.
