Rob Lowe’s former nanny, Jessica Gibson, and her celebrity lawyer, Gloria Allred, were on the Today show this morning to give the nanny’s side of the story. 24 year-old Gibson worked for Lowe and his wife as a nanny for their two boys for 7 years, and even returned to work for the family twice. She left the job abruptly in February, and sent two text messages afterwards saying that it was just time for her to leave and that the Lowes didn’t do anything to prompt her departure. Lowe wrote last week that Gibson demanded $1.5 million in extortion money or “she will accuse us both of a vicious laundry list of false terribles.” He then preemptively sued Gibson and two other employees, saying they spread false information about him and his wife in violation of their confidentiality agreements. Lowe’s lawsuit did not give any specifics about the allegations against him.
Gibson has now filed her own lawsuit in which she lists the harassment she says she endured while working in Lowe’s household, including being touched inappropriately and seeing both Lowe and his wife Sheryl naked around the house:
Rob Lowe repeatedly exposed himself and inappropriately touched himself and his former nanny, she claims in a lawsuit filed Monday in a Santa Barbara, Calif. court.
Jessica Gibson, 24, worked for Lowe and his wife, Sheryl, off and on for seven years, according to the 18-page document. She quit on Feb. 24.
Lowe, 44, the lawsuit further alleges, “placed his hand inside Gibson’s pants” several times from about Sept. 2005 to around Jan. 2008. The actor also allegedly grabbed her buttocks without her consent around Dec. 2007, according to the filing….
In her legal papers, Gibson also made harassment claims against Sheryl, 46, claiming Lowe’s wife would walk around the house naked, make vulgar comments, and would discuss her sex life with Lowe to the nanny.
[From People.com]
On the Today Show, celebrity mouthpiece Allred dominated the conversation, and given how aggressive she was, and how triumphant Gibson looked, I found myself a bit skeptical about their side of the story. You want to give someone the benefit of the doubt, and sexual assault is a very serious thing. Given the details of this case, I just didn’t didn’t find the way they presented it all that convincing. It probably had more to do with Allred’s very dominant personality than anything else, and that’s unfortunate.
Gibson denied trying to extort money from blackmail the Lowes, as Lowe alleged in his article about her. Allred said their claims were “defamatory,” and that they were engaging in a “preemptive strike” against her, and that it was retaliation against her client’s claim of sexual harassment, which is illegal.
Meredith Viera asked Gibson why she kept working for the Lowes for seven years if she was being abused and harassed, and she said “I loved the children, I needed the job, I always thought it would get better, and I was scared.”
Viera asked Jessica about the e-mails that she sent after she left, and she wouldn’t talk about it. Viera again pressed “Jessica are you saying you didn’t write those e-mails in which you were saying you leaving had nothing to do with the Lowes?” and she didn’t answer and Allred said “We’re going to talk about that in the lawsuit, and why she did… she was in fear of them, she was trying to appease them. She was trying to get away.”
When Viera asked Gibson how she was coping, she said “I have a great team around me, and I just have to stand up and just fight.”
This case deserves a fair hearing, but this woman needs a normal lawyer who is going to accurately tell her side of the story in a believable way. Having Gloria Allred involved just makes it seem as if she wants it as high profile as possible, and that’s not doing her any favors. She also didn’t come across as convincing to me. That doesn’t mean she’s not telling the truth, just that she has to work on her public image if she’s going to start going on the talk shows.
thats the Nanny? she awfully young and pretty and given Robs past history a sex tape with an underage girl this was bound to happen.
You always have options I don’t understand why she stayed.
Bullshit. If her allegations of sexual assault were true, why wouldn’t she have gone to the police? If you’re pissed off enough to sue someone, why wouldn’t you want them put in jail?
Also, it’s not like the criminal case would have made it harder to sue him afterwards – just look what happened to OJ. Odds are she knows she has no case, and if she brought it to the police, they would discover how full of shit she is and it would hurt her lawsuit.
Oh, and as always, Gloria Allred needs to shut the hell up or be shipped off to an island somewhere.
I believe her. He has done this sort of thing to a friend of mine as well.
I don’t believe her for a second. Maybe Rob IS that sleazy, but I’m sure the girl consented to the “assault” if it even happened. And maybe Mrs. Lowe DID discuss their sex life, but the girl probably gave cues she was OK with it. Like, in a friendly conversational way.
Hiring Aldred totally makes this girl seem like a money-grubbing fame whore. She doesn’t deserve a penny.
Given his previous history, I wouldn’t be surprised. The nanny is young and attractive and the wife looks like a piece of work. It’s not surprising she stayed, I had a friend face similar situations, working as au pair and she always said she thought the guy was just drunk or it was a one time thing (until it became too much and she left).
What exactly is this ‘previous history’ everyone is talking about? The guy had an underage sex scandal, and there was video involved. He also met that girl in a bar, so he wasn’t the only one to be fooled by her.
I guess I just don’t see how having stupid and irresponsible, but still consensual, sex with someone naturally predisposes you to sexual assault.
Rob has a past history of well beening a sexual thrill seeker for lack of a better word. You ever see FAMILY GUY the creepy horney neighbor Quadmire? I sort of see Rob as that kind of guy.
I still dont get why she stayed for 7 years or how anyone would stay for any length of time of they were subject to the unwanted sexual advances from a horny employer. but then my mom did’nt raise me to be stupid.
Funny how she hired Gloria Allred. That raises all kinds of red flags for me. And I don’t believe she’s filed criminal charges against him, has she?
I seriously doubt her story. I think she sees dollar signs. I find it difficult to believe she suffered all this and still returned to her job a few times after leaving.
Plus, although unprofessional, talking with the nanny about your sex life or accidentally seeing your employers naked is not sexual harrassment. A nanny’s position is far more intimate than your average employer-employee relationship.
I definately agree with those above who say that his old sex scandal has nothing to do with this. He met this underaged girl in a bar and as such he was well within the realm of common sense to assume she was at the legal age of consent. Videotaped sex among three people might be distasteful to some but it is not illegal or morally depraved provided all parties are single and consenting. It certainly is no indication that he is likely to engage in the persistant sexual harrassment and assault of the caregiver to his children two decades or so after the so called scandal.
i suppose she will be on the cover of Playboy in a few months……..
Daisy, we are all sexual thrill seekers.
I don’t believe it. She was scared? Of what? Rob doesn’t seem the violent type to me. If he was actually abusing her, she should have gone to the police immediately. Instead, she waits, gets a high profile man-eater of a lawyer, and goes on TV to talk about it? This seems extortionistic to me.
It’s funny how things get misconstrued. A friendly pat on the back becomes a grope. Rob’s wife talking about men and sex in general (and all women do that) becomes Rob’s wife talking about her sex life with Rob.
I think if I was going to scam someone in this way, I’d have picked a more wealthy person than Rob Lowe, though.
Your motives are apparent when you hire Gloria Allred: You want that 5 minutes of fame or is it vice versa?
I felt the same way about the Anita Hill case – supposedly she was revolted by Clarence Thomas, but she followed him from job to job as their careers developed, which she certainly didn’t have to do. I’d find this woman a lot more credible if she’d worked for the Lowe’s for 7 months and quit out of disgust. There are plenty of opportunities for a trained nanny.
Hmm – how well-trained could a 17 year old (or even 18 year old) nanny be?
It should be up to a court to decide the accuracy of this claim, but by not complaining to the police, she’s has done her story a disservice.
There could be some truth in the story, especially as the “preemptive” lawsuits against three employees simultaneously is a very strange move. But still, it’s for the police to deal with, and then if she had no joy THEN go down the civil road.
I think Gloria Allred is rather an ambulance chaser for sexual harassment suits and probably contacts these women as opposed to vice versa.
Whatever the reality, I can’t believe people are suggesting that a previous encounter with what turned out to be two underage girls would pre-dispose him to sexually harass and abuse this nanny. What a dangerous conclusion to come to.
I have no clue who Gloria Allred is, or what sort of regard she’s held in, nor have I much interest in this story, but my sympathy is immediately with Rob Lowe if these sorts of pre-conceptions are being thrown around.
I can see a girl wanting to be famous from a mile off. Next she will be giving interviews, then comes the book, then on the partying scene with Paris Hilton. Too bad Lowe has to be the back on which she rides.
Well it seems that many male celebs have a history with being involved with their children’s nannies, so I would not be surprise if this is true.
After watching her interview, I doubt she’ll get very far in court. The whole time she was smiling, like she wanted to bust out laughing. Her demeanor was not a nervous young lady that had been mistreated; that’s for sure! Her lawyer is probably hoping the Lowe’s will pay up a hefty sum to avoid this being drug around in the media. How is that any different from blackmail? Because you have a lawyer, that makes it right? If she had actually been wronged, she would have filed a criminal report first; then perhaps a civil suit. The fact that it’s purely civil tends to make her look like she’s trying to get something for nothing!
its odd that allred wants to have her arm on the nanny’s arm or lap the entire interview. thats very controlling body language and indicates she wants to do all the answering because she cannot control exactly what the nanny says. it was probably meant to look nurturing and comforting, but its also a way she can signal to her when she wants her to shut up, etc. when viera asked about the text messages.
I see she has that shrill harpy of a lawyer on her side, so she must be serious.
Mairead, I was a nanny myself and quite honestly, most families consider well trained, particularly for ages 18 months and up to be any young woman with a high school diploma, no criminal background, drug free who can push a swing at the park.
Very few families want a genuinely well trained nanny. For starters, they would have to pay out the eyeball. Secondly, most parents want to dictate the terms of their child’s care to this woman as if they are somehow experts on child rearing.
Nope, what works out best for most people who employ nannies is a young, biddable thing who will do exactly what you tell them including work a few extra hours here and there and run a couple errands while keeping their child occupied. God forbid the nanny become equally as important to the child as their parents.
Not saying all families are this way but certainly all the ones I or any other nannies I knew were exactly like this.
The employers of nannies are some of the most insecure, snobbish people around, generally speaking but I still think this woman is full of crap.
UGHH – ROB IS SLEAZY HUH. I REMEMBER THE RAPE CASE HE HAD AGAINST HIM BACK IN THE DAY. HE NEEDS TO CALM HIS BALLS DOWN.
Wait, they hired a 17 year old to take care of their kid? The poor girl is only 24 now. Why shouldn’t she get the best lawyer? Rob started this that insane letter he put up on the Huffington Post.
Why is she smiling? Accusing someone of sexual harassment is serious business. Being a victim of sexual harassment is serious business. So why the hell is she smiling so much? Ok, let’s suppose that her allegations are true. She finally gets fed up and quits but she then takes the time to send two emails saying her leaving had nothing to do with them, that her heart (I’m quoting the clip) just wasn’t into nannying anymore? Sorry just don’t buy her story and Gloria Allwet needs to STFU.
Who knows maybe this nanny got involved in a sexual realtionship with Rob,but he was never going to leave his wife and so this nanny is retaliating and coming out with all these embarrising claims. One way or the other, I don’t like this nanny. If she really felt abused by them, than why is she sitting there with a smile on her face? She probably liked Rob’s attention until she realized she wasn’t that important to them and they could always find another nanny to harass.
From the sordid details, you can clearly tell that something isn’t right. When someone struts around naked infront of me, I tell them off, instead of waiting 7 years to go and tell the whole world with a smiling face. I think she enjoyed all the perversion and now wants to cash in on it.
Okay I can see how the ‘image’ of Lowe as a sexual predator is an easy one to take given the past scandal that almost killed his career but where’s the actual evidence of this? Was he sleeping with underage co-stars before? Have other nannies come forward with similar allegations?
There’s usually a trail or trend with these sort of things, hardly ever just one previous event. You can’t build up an attitude of sexual entitlement by just harrassing one girl – unless you were maliciously targeting just one individual.
It’s interesting that these allegations pop up when he’s starting to make a career for himself again. I mean this can’t be the first time he’s had help around the house or a nanny before. There’s got to be than that – and I mean that for either party.