Harrods ‘Utterly Appalled’ By Rape Allegations Against Late Billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed
ForbesSep 23
UK: More Women Accuse Ex-Harrods Owner of Sexual Assault
Above: Mohamed Al-Fayed attends "Chanel Collection des Metiers d'Art 2016/17 : Paris Cosmopolite" Show on December 6, 2016 in Paris, France. Image copyright: Pascal Le Segretain/Staff/Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
The Facts
Another woman has accused the late former owner of British department store Harrods, Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, of sexually assaulting her when she was 21. She said he "put his hands on [her] breast" at his London apartment in 2007.
Al Fayed, whose alleged decades-long abuse was revealed in a recent BBC documentary, is now accused of raping five women and sexually assaulting at least 15 others at his properties in London, Saint-Tropez, and Abu Dhabi, and the former Duke of Windsor's home in Paris.
The Spin
Narrative A
Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster on par with Jimmy Savile, Harvey Weinstein, and Jeffrey Epstein. His money and power, particularly as the owner of the department store, allowed him to build a dangerously toxic work environment where he could abuse women with impunity. It's tragic that due to this power, his victims only felt capable of speaking up after his death.
Narrative B
The case of Al Fayed goes far beyond a toxic work environment and all the way to the top of the British government and the Royal Family. It's no wonder that the man who bought off members of parliament and had a relationship with the former Duke of Windsor was never prosecuted. Women were likely kept quiet not just by their powerful boss but by the entire upper echelon of British society.