Now, ladies. Surely you were interns once? Actually, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were child stars, so they never had to go through the endless trauma of making 200 cups of tea a day and putting their bosses' banana skins in the bin.
The Olsen twins are in trouble now though, as their company Dualstar Entertainment Group is being sued by interns who claim they were unpaid or paid very little. This includes the exploitation of fashion interns too by the looks of it, as their fashion labels The Row and Elizabeth and James both fall under the Dualstar umbrella. Whilst we love their clothing lines, this is just not on! Particularly as they are worth more than a billion dollars. Yes, really.
Speaking to The New York Post's Page Six, Shahista Lalani is the main plaintiff in this case, which according to the court order, alleges "wage theft" and claims that there were also forty other interns who faced similar situations with no pay. Shahista worked for The Row in 2012 as a design intern, and said she was treated very poorly whilst having to conduct menial tasks. Whilst her main grievances were with the head technical designer for The Row, this is unfortunately still the Olsens' responsiblity.
Shahista said (of the head technical designer): "She was very demanding. I was doing the work of three interns. I was talking to her all day, all night. E-mails at nighttime for the next day, like 10pm at night. It was like 100 degrees outside. I'd just be sweating to death. I probably carried like 50 pounds worth of trench coats to The Row's factories. I spent 50 hour weeks inputting data into spreadsheets, making tech sheets, running personal errands for paid employees, organising materials, photocopying, sewing, pattern cutting, among other related duties. The head technical designer was like, 'Go get my Advil. I need this and this because I'm feeling sick and I have this meeting.' When we weren't doing something, they'd be like 'Organise the buttons in the back by colour code.' You're cleaning. You don't get a set 15-minute break. You just go with their crazy flow. You just get caught up in the pressure. You're like an employee, except you're not getting paid. They're kind of mean to you. Other interns have cried. I'd see a lot of kids crying doing coffee runs, photocopying stuff."
Now, a little lunch break and a few expenses isn't too much to ask is it?