Apple’s fitness chief is retiring in the wake of allegations he fostered a poisonous office and harassed workers — including claims he once joked about sleeping with an Olympic skier.
Jay Blahnik, 57, who served as Apple’s vice president of fitness applied sciences, allegedly joked during a 2021 assembly about sleeping with Olympic skier Ted Ligety, according to two attendees cited by The New York Times.
He also allegedly recommended that a member of his group secured Ligety’s participation in a fitness characteristic by offering the Olympian a neck therapeutic massage, according to accounts relayed by workers and cited by The Times.
Jay Blahnik, Apple’s former vice president of fitness applied sciences, is dealing with allegations of office misconduct. APPLE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Apple was accused of going to vital lengths to protect Blahnik, who helped create fashionable fitness options on the Apple Watch and later oversaw the company’s Fitness+ service.
The company settled one sexual harassment grievance and declined to self-discipline him — while allegedly permitting him to stay in charge of the same group and reporting construction tied to the complaints, according to the lawsuit and worker accounts.
Blahnik has also been accused by a number of present and former workers of a broader sample of poisonous habits, including making feedback about trainers’ our bodies, utilizing vulgar language about colleagues’ personal lives and joking about alleged affairs among workers.
A lawsuit filed against Blahnik by a former worker alleges that he sexually harassed inventive director Wil Tidman for years and pursued him romantically — then retaliated when the curiosity wasn’t reciprocated.
Olympic skier Ted Ligety was referenced in alleged remarks made during a 2021 Apple assembly. Getty Images
The grievance claims the conduct started shortly after Tidman’s 2019 rent and escalated into a “campaign of harassment and job-related retaliation.”
Blahnik is alleged to have commented on feminine trainers’ “rear ends and breasts,” according to a number of workers cited by The Times.
He also allegedly speculated in entrance of workers that a colleague’s spouse had cheated, utilizing a vulgar time period while pointing to the couple’s youngster having a completely different hair shade, the report said.
Blahnik further fueled discomfort with jokes about workers relationships, including quipping during a work call that a male inventive director was having an affair with another male producer, former workers instructed The Times.
Jay Blahnik led Apple’s Fitness+ push before allegations from workers surfaced. FilmMagic
The govt also allegedly “leered” at that same inventive director and made personal feedback about his look.
The habits escalated in 2022, when Blahnik despatched the inventive director what colleagues described as an “inappropriate and unsettling” textual content message, according to people acquainted with the exchange.
After the alleged incident, the inventive director went on medical depart before ultimately reaching a settlement with Apple, the report said.
Blahnik’s conduct prolonged to confrontations in conferences, including one in which he “exploded” and yelled at worker Mandana Mofidi, according to her lawsuit.
Apple’s Jay Blahnik allegedly joked to colleagues about sleeping with Olympic skier Ted Ligety, according to accounts cited by The New York Times. Getty Images
Mofidi, who filed go well with against Apple and Blahnik in Los Angeles County Superior Court in December 2024, later described the aftermath as “incredibly isolating, humiliating — honestly, scary,” as she alleged retaliation after raising considerations.
Even Apple’s inside review acknowledged issues, according to the lawsuit, with HR officers allegedly describing Blahnik’s conduct as “harsh,” “unsympathetic,” and “probably demotivating,” while noting a number of workers had seen Mofidi crying at work.
Despite that, she was saved in the same reporting construction, the grievance says.
Apple Watch’s Activity Rings turned a signature characteristic under Jay Blahnik’s management. sompong – stock.adobe.com
Mofidi finally went on medical depart and was identified with PTSD by an Apple Wellness physician, citing panic attacks, sleep disruption and other bodily symptoms, according to the submitting.
When she sought to return on the situation she not report to Blahnik, Apple allegedly denied the request and later cut off her system access — main to what she claims was an efficient termination.
Megan Thomas, a New York-based sexual harassment attorney, instructed The Post the case displays a broader sample in office discrimination.
“This case highlights a problem I call the Cinderella effect. Employers hold women to a higher standard and require them to work more, while paying them less. When they speak up, they often face retaliation,” Thomas said.
She added that legal motion, while daunting, is usually vital to drive accountability.
“It is incredibly difficult to stand up for yourself and sue your employer, but sometimes it is the only way to create real change. The reality is, if this is happening to one woman, it is happening to many. And when one woman stands up, she is not just standing up for herself, she is standing up for others too,” she instructed The Post.
Nine present and former workers described the office as “verbally abusive, manipulative and inappropriate,” with more than 10 staff taking prolonged mental health or medical depart since 2022, according to the Times.
Apple has denied wrongdoing and said an inside investigation discovered no evidence to support the claims, though the company settled one grievance alleging sexual harassment.
The Post has sought remark from Apple, Blahnik, Tidman, Ligety and Mofidi.
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