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Jodie Fisher, Gloria Allred and Mark Hurd Confuse Me

Mark Hurd the former CEO of HP has stepped down from his position in the wake of a sexual harassment claim. This makes sense in some ways, like maybe he’s trying to save his marriage, but in other ways it leaves me completely perplexed.

Of course when Jodie Fisher sued she went to Gloria Allred, I’m pretty sure I’d call her if I had a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Here’s what’s interesting. The AP wire says:

Fisher echoed Hurd’s statement that the two never had a sexual relationship, but neither she nor her lawyer, celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, would discuss details of the harassment claim.

That claim set off the chain of events that led to the discovery of allegedly falsified expense reports for dinners Hurd had with Fisher and ended in Hurd’s forced resignation Friday from the world’s largest technology company.

Fisher acknowledged that she and Hurd have settled the matter. A person familiar with the case told The Associated Press that Hurd agreed to pay Fisher but would not reveal the size of the payment.

Which still makes no sense. Did Fisher get mad when Hurd was using her name on expense reports? Was Fisher part of a plan to defraud HP? Do a few dinners even matter?

The AP goes on to say:

The investigation by HP’s board of directors found that Hurd listed other people as his dinner partners on expense reports when he’d been out with Fisher. HP also claimed Hurd arranged for her to be paid for work she didn’t do.

Maybe the best defense is a good offense? Maybe Fisher was worried that she’s be in trouble for taking money for work she didn’t do? I don’t know if that’s a crime, but certainly it’s unethical, and certainly it would keep people from hiring you.

I don’ t see this as an HP issue, but I’m calling bullshit on the news reports. There’s more here than what meets the eye.

5 thoughts on “Jodie Fisher, Gloria Allred and Mark Hurd Confuse Me”

  1. I have trouble taking Gloria Allred seriously. She strikes me as someone who is more interested in advancing her career than in protecting clients. Could be wrong, but…

  2. None of it adds up, does it? My not terribly educated guess is that there is much more to the story, that it WAS a set up of some sort that used this disconnected lameness to cover something else. Obviously if Gloria is involved there will be a payday and a public lamentation of “I didn’t know” from Fisher. I’m going to take a bath now…

  3. Jodie Fisher is riding Hurd’s coattails. Why else would she have hired Gloria Allred as an attorney. She wants to elevate herself even if it means that Mark Hurd loses his job. There was no sex. This is all about a future book deal or a reality show or some other nonsense that will bring her great gobs of money.

    Mark Hurd’s only failings were some inaccuracies related to dinner expenses and the fact he said he was having dinner with other clients when in fact he was dining with Jodie Fisher. While dishonest is this a valid reason to fire the man responsible for taking HP to #1 computer manufacturer in the world while making them huge sums of money?

    This whole deal is sad and ugly. Is there a more sleazy attorney than Gloria Allred? I just don’t follow Allred’s involvement here. My feeling it’s all about promoting Jodie Fisher. Why should anyone care who it was that Mark Hurd was having dinner with. How does this in anyway make Ms. Fisher marketable? If anything, I would think that people would shy away from her now that she has retained Gloria Allred.

  4. The PR buzz on this story is currently all about the advice Hurd was given re this debacle. The expert encouraged him to reveal the story, in the event he would have to endure months of humiliation. In the PR biz…this is the ‘fast burn strategy’: let the story burn hot for 24-72…with the hope this story will flame out fast.

    Here’s the NYTimes link to the story: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/technology/10hp.html?_r=2&ref=business

    Let’s see if the strategy works. I’m sure Hurd hopes so. And Gloria Allred hopes not!

  5. Well surely you are confused,who are these people and why do we read about them?

    You grew up with “free to be you and me” and I don’t know how the self promoter attorney who claims to be the “most famous woman attorney practising law in the nation” has any part to play in your feminine freedom.

    Do we look back to the OJ case for women’s rights? To Scott Peterson? to Tommy Lee?No, those are each pandering, shooting fish in a barrell practise of law having only to do with self-aggrandisement and making money.

    No wonder you are confused.

    Go to Legal Aid, Bet Tzedek, Harriet Bahai, CRLA, Free Clinics , etc and there you will meet the most hardworking, DEDICATED women attorney’s practising law in the U.S,
    Spend any time in those rooms and you will no longer be confused.

    Your confusion stems from a presumption that only men could pander women’s rights…and, that just ain’t true. Flashly lawyers come in all sexes. Self-promoters come in alls sexes.

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