Everything the American Apparel clothing line advertises belies an odious fine print. For all the boasting of its success from founder and former CEO Dov Charney, the company always seems to teeter on bankruptcy. The promise of a perfectly comfy t-shirt come at hefty price-tag, and the quality and durability of the clothes frequently fall short. Claims of “sweatshop-free” and “made in the USA” are rendered moot by suspicious confidentiality agreements, union-busting and an absolute slew of sexual harassment lawsuits.
And now finally, finally, Charney has been dethroned as CEO by his own board, for rampant, and I mean rampant, business-related scumminess (allegedly!). It’s legitimately baffling that it took him this long to get fired. Then again, it appears that Charney has been getting away with being an asshole for a very, very long time.
Before he had more lawsuits than retail outlets, and yes, even before he went bankrupt the first time on his daddy’s start-up cash, Charney was quite the little hustler. Seen here at 12-years-old in the 1983 comedy documentary 20th-Century Chocolate Cake, little Dov bemoans the injustice of summer camp, where he doesn’t retain complete control of his finances. I’m not sure if this is the Israeli summer camp his father sent him to as a disciplinary measure, but if it was, it didn’t work—Charney senior said his son “kept escaping.” Morris Charney eventually ended up working from home to “keep an eye on” Dov, as he was “difficult to handle.” There are also rumors that the precocious little scamp was expelled from his posh Connecticut boarding school. Accounts vary, but they’re both pretty disgusting—think either ejaculate or feces.
Behold the sweet face of a future capitalist pig and absolute slimeball. He’s positively incensed that his summer camp won’t let him walk around with a wad of cash. He’s twelve. I tend to be fond of obnoxious children—everyone’s a beast at some point in childhood—but even I shuddered at the sound of this little black-market hustler when he spat with disgust:
“They just do it because they don’t want any poor kids to be jealous.”
Summer camp rules = Communism!
