Debrahlee Lorenzana, left, with high-powered attorney Gloria Allred, in happier times. (AP)
A banker who claimed Citibank fired for being too sexy says celebrity attorney Gloria Allred only gave her case attention to attract interest from the media.
Debrahlee Lorenzana’s accusation marks a rare instance of a client lashing out at Allred, a headline-making attorney who has represented clients in high-profile lawsuits against celebrities including football star Lawrence Taylor, and actors John Travolta and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Lorenzana says the high-powered attorney dropped her as a client after she refused to accept a settlement. Instead, Lorenzana pushed her case forward by herself in arbitration, the New York Daily News reports.
“The only times I saw her (Allred) was when the media was there,” Lorenzana told the Daily News. “I ended up fighting Citibank alone.”
Allred fired back at Lorenzana’s allegations, saying in a press statement that she had “put in hundreds of hours fighting for her (Lorenzana’s) rights,” according to the Daily News.
Allred would not explain exactly why she dropped Lorenzana as a client, citing ethical concerns.
Citibank dismissed Lorenzana in 2010, saying she performed poorly at work. Lorenzana sued, saying her bosses told her that her appearance distracted workers. She often credited her curves and the way she dressed to her Latina heritage.
Allred recently took on a similar case. She will represent Lauren Odes, who says she was fired from her job at a Manhattan lingerie distributor because her breasts were too large and her attire too distracting.
Odes says her Orthodox Jewish bosses asked her to tape down her breasts to make them appear smaller.
“She was simply fired for being attractive and for not conforming to the religious strictures imposed by top management,” Allred said of Odes, according to the Daily News.
The lingerie distributor’s owners declined to comment, the Daily News reports.
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