Mary-Kate, Ashley Olsen Responds To Lawsuit, Denies The Claims

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s company, Dualstar Entertainment Group, issued a statement Tuesday to address a lawsuit, which claimed that the company failed to pay interns.

According to Hello!, Annett Wolf, a spokesperson of Dualstar, denied the claims that the Olsen twins’ company failed to pay 40 interns. The Dualstar statement read: "As an initial matter, Dualstar is an organisation that is committed to treating all individuals fairly and in accordance with all applicable laws. The allegations in the complaint filed against Dualstar are groundless and Dualstar will vigorously defend itself against plaintiff's claims in court, not before the media. Dualstar is confident that once the true facts of this case are revealed, the lawsuit will be dismissed in its entirety."

The released statement is in response to a lawsuit filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court by a former intern. The lead plaintiff is former design intern Shahista Lalani, who claimed that she was treated poorly and was doing menial tasks for free at the twin’s Dualstar office in 2012, Page Six reported. The complaint alleged that Lalani worked 50-hour weeks “inputting data into spreadsheets, making tech sheets, running personal errands for paid employees, organizing materials, photocopying, sewing, pattern cutting, among other related duties.”

The former intern worked for the Olsens’ fashion label, The Row, for five months and reported to the head technical designer. Lalani recounted that the head technical designer was “very demanding” and that she was doing the work of three interns. Lalani shared, “I was talking to her all day, all night. Emails at nighttime for the next day, like 10 p.m. at night.”

The Parsons School of Design graduate also claimed that she suffered from dehydration and was hospitalized, given the demands of the job. “It was like 100 degrees outside. I’d just be sweating to death. I probably carried like 50 pounds worth of trench coats” to Row factories, she said.

However, Lalani clarified that she did not work directly with the Mary Kate and Ashley during her internship. She even described the Olsen twins as “really nice people” and that they were “never mean to anyone.”