Worker is suing his former company after being fired for 'accidentally' sending a NSFW reply-all email to his boss

vt-author-image

By Kim Novak

Article saved!Article saved!

A former city worker has taken legal action after being fired for accidentally sending an inappropriate message to a host of colleagues - including the San Francisco DA.

Jovan Thomas, 56, is suing the office of the San Francisco District Attorney where he formerly worked after he "accidentally" replied all to an email that ended up getting him fired.

GettyImages-1743975610.jpgThe reply was sent to an email DA Brooke Jenkins sent to the company. Credit: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

Thomas had unintentionally sent a reply-all email in response to a calendar invitation to an anti-discrimination meeting from the DA Brooke Jenkins, sending his response - which read "What color panties are you wearing?" - to the entire company, including her.

Thomas claimed that the message had been intended for a friend and he'd accidentally sent it to the company by mistake while "texting back and forth with my fraternity brother”.

He then sent a follow-up email apologizing for the mishap, telling the other staff: "I sincerely apologize to everyone," adding: "Please know this is not who I am as a person as I carry myself with respect and dignity," and that he was "sincere;y sorry" and would "never do such a thing on purpose".

The alleged emails were shared on X (formerly Twitter) and soon circulated on social media.


Thomas was fired in the wake of the email, and is now suing the DA's office and Jenkins for defamation.

In court documents seen by news.com.au, Thomas is seeking damages after claiming people within the office contacted the press about the incident.

He also claims that the DA's office failed to clarify to the press that the message was a "wacky email the plaintiff intended to send to a friend" when they were approached for comment.

The court documents allegedly state: "On or about January 26, 2024, plaintiff, who is straight, was texting with a straight, male, long-time personal friend and fraternity brother who was in New Zealand to bury his father.

"Hoping to cheer up his friend, who was distraught and grieving the death of his father, plaintiff intended to text his friend a jokey question of the sort that that plaintiff had sent his friend on occasion in the past in order to cheer him up – namely, 'what colour are your panties?'

"Unfortunately, just as plaintiff was about to send his playful text to his friend, plaintiff received an email from defendant JENKINS.

"Plaintiff immediately told the staff at defendant SFDA and defendant JENKINS that had received plaintiff’s email that he had intended to text his lighthearted question to a grieving male friend."

The documents add: "It was immediately obvious to defendant JENKINS and everyone else at defendant SFDA who had received plaintiff’s email that plaintiff had sent it inadvertently; that he had not intended to email his boss, the District Attorney, asking her what color panties she was wearing."

GettyImages-1805744334.jpgThomas claimed he was meant to send the email to a fraternity brother as a joke to cheer him up. Credit: Delmaine Donson/Getty Images

As part of his case, Thomas is seeking compensation as well as payment of his legal fees.

Randy Quezada, a spokesman for the DA’s Office, said in a statement that there had been no relationship between Thomas and Jenkins, adding: "This misogynistic behavior violates the office’s code of conduct and this individual has been terminated.

"The District Attorney’s Office is committed to maintaining a professional office environment where all staff members are treated with dignity and respect and not subject to harassment or a hostile work environment."

Featured image credit: Delmaine Donson/Getty Images