Tiger Woods has found himself in hot water this week after his ex-girlfriend has accused him of sexual harassment.
The 47-year-old professional US golfer hasn't had a particularly successful love life, with his ex-wife Elin Nordegren allegedly smashing up his car with golf clubs upon learning he was a serial cheater.
Now, it seems another former flame, Erica Herman, is taking legal repercussions after she argued that Woods sexually harassed her and subsequently pressured her into signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). She has filed a lawsuit against him.
On Friday last week (May 5) Herman stated that she had been sexually harassed by Woods while working at his restaurant, The Woods Jupiter, prior to having a relationship with him. According to TMZ, Herman claimed she only agreed to sign the NDA in 2017 after she was threatened with being fired from her job.
Transcripts of an email conversation between Herman and Chris Hubman, the restaurant's Chief Financial Officer, were recently released, and were reportedly sent mere days prior to Herman signing the NDA. In the email, Herman expressed her hesitancy in signing the document, as she believed it had the potential to affect her career if she and Woods broke up.
"My only concern is if by chance TW does something that brings our relationship to an end, do I automatically loose (sic) my job? I don't have any problems with what's in the document because I wouldn't go public or use anything I know to hurt him or the kids but with my whole life in his hands now I would want to have some kind of control over my future in the business," Herman wrote in the email, per Yahoo News. "If something happened 5-10 years down the road I don't want to be in my 40s heartbroken and jobless. Thoughts?"
Hubman's response evidently demonstrated that the NDA wouldn't have any adverse effects on Herman's future. "In my mind, your employment by The Woods Jupiter and your personal relationship with [Woods] are two separate items. I don't think the end of one automatically impacts the other…although I admit it could be complicated. It will most likely depend on the terms, condition or reason for the relationship ending," his response began.
"The NDA doesn't address the terms of your [Tiger Woods Jupiter] employment…only the dissemination and control of information that you become privy to as a result of your personal and professional relationship with [Woods]," it continued.
Herman has claimed in her lawsuit against Woods that the NDA she was strongly encouraged to sign contributed to the sexual harassment she says she was subjected to during their relationship, as she was under the threat of legal action if she disclosed any information regarding Woods and his private life.
In court documents, obtained by People, Herman says that Woods tricked her into leaving the home they shared for six years (telling her to pack for a vacation to the Bahamas) something she also claims is a form of sexual harassment. "When [Woods] became disgruntled with their sexual relationship, he tricked her into leaving her home, locked her out, took her cash, pets, and personal possessions, and tried to strong-arm her into signing a different NDA," Herman's attorney, Benjamin Hodas, wrote in the filing.
"Now, he wants to deny her access to the courts and put this case into secret arbitration, based on a highly redacted document that he claims is a contract between them," the documents stated.
Herman is seeking $30 million in damages from Woods in relation to her allegations of sexual harassment.
