Defending against an unusual sexual harassment lawsuit, Playboy Entertainment Group says the case should be dismissed in part because porn star Christy Canyon never demanded an on-air “ass-waxing” from her producer while hosting a sex-themed satellite radio show.

Christy Canyon (left) and Terri Hughes

The “ass-waxing” incident is a key allegation in the suit, which was filed by Terri Hughes in September 2008 shortly after she quit her job as producer of Playboy Radio's “Night Calls” show. The case presents the issue of whether sexually-explicit behavior in the context of a show about sex amounts to illegal harassment.

Canyon “demanded that Plaintiff enter the studio to 'wax' Christy Canyon's 'ass,'” Hughes alleged in her complaint. “Christy Canyon repeatedly made this demand throughout the three hour show, forcing Plaintiff to repeatedly refuse.”

Hughes started working on “Night Calls” in January 2008 and did take part in at least one “Wax My Ass” segment with Canyon. But during the show's live broadcast on July 14, 2008, she balked when Canyon asked her if she would “put it on the books this week to wax my [butt]?”

“Uh, maybe next week,” Hughes replied, and when pressed by Canyon -- “What the fuck's wrong with this week?” -- said, “Um, I'm not in the butt-waxing mood this week.”

In a pending motion for summary judgment, Playboy attorney Jason S. Mills says Canyon “mentioned the issue several more times during the show to note that she was 'still miffed,'” but he focuses on her initial exchange with Hughes.

The transcript of the July 14 show “confirms that Canyon simply asked Hughes to 'put it on the books[,]' (meaning to calendar it),” Mills argues. “As such, the event, as it actually occurred,  is a far cry from Hughes' allegations. Canyon made no 'demand' at all. And Hughes simply declined (a single time) to put the segment on the calendar.”

“Thus, even putting aside Hughes' misrepresentation of events, the actual exchange at issue (refusing to calendar a bit) cannot amount to 'severe,' 'pervasive,' or 'objectively offensive' conduct,” the motion says.

The case is somewhat similar to Lyle v. Warner Bros., 38 Cal. 4th 264 (2006), in which the California Supreme Court said writers on the TV show “Friends” did not sexually harass an assistant by indulging in untargeted “sexual antics and sexual talk” while brainstorming script ideas.

The hostile work environment standard adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court requires “careful consideration of the social context in which particular behavior occurs and is experienced by its target.” Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, 523 U.S. 75 (1997).

Hughes says she witnessed Canyon “exposing her genitals and breasts to guests and co-workers, making requests to guests and co-workers to touch her genitals and breasts, and masturbating” during “Night Calls” shows.

But Mills argues that Canyon's behavior was not targeted at Hughes because of her gender and is also not actionable because “Night Calls is a show about sex. It is hosted by former adult film stars who talk vividly about sex, and it is designed to appeal to listeners' sexual fantasies.”

Hughes, moreover, was a “knowing and active participant” in the show's raunch, Mills says, demonstrating sexual positions with the hosts, describing her panties, commenting on photographs of listeners' genitals, and adopting the persona “Sexy Terri.”

Hughes, who is African-American, also alleges Playboy Radio executive producer Farrell Hirsch discriminated against her by using the term "Negro" to describe the type of show he didn't want to be aired.

By Matthew Heller
7/18/09