McDonald’s is suing its former British CEO Steve Easterbrook for £32million over allegations he had affairs with four members of staff and had naked pictures of three of them.
The restaurant chain claims the 53-year-old lied to the board about the extent of his relationships with workers when he left the company in November.
McDonald’s says it has since uncovered evidence which includes dozens of nude or sexually explicit photos and videos of women.
According to their lawsuit, an investigation sparked by a whistleblower found the images were taken in late 2018 or early 2019 and sent as attachments from Easterbrook’s corporate email account.
It is claimed that he approved “an extraordinary stock grant, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars” for one of the employees while they were in a sexual relationship.
In legal documents filed yesterday with America’s Securities and Exchange Commission, McDonald’s is suing Easterbrook for the severance package he received reported to be worth $42million (£32m).
The board said it would not have signed a separation agreement had it known about his alleged conduct.
Easterbrook and McDonald’s parted ways three years after he took over the role.
At the time of his exit, he said: “I engaged in a recent consensual relationship with an employee. This was a mistake.”
