Female executive at Moet sues French champagne maker for £1.1m after she was 'told she needed "anti-seduction" training

Friday, July 11, 2025 - A female executive at Moët Hennessy is suing the champagne maker for £1.1million after she was allegedly told she needed 'anti-seduction' training and she was 'gagging for it'.

Maria Gasparovic, the former chief of staff to the global head of LVMH's wine and spirits business' distribution Jean-Marc Lacave, was sacked last June, just four months after she told her managers and HR department about senior colleagues' alleged misconduct. 

Lacave, her direct boss, is alleged to have told her that in order to be promoted, she needed 'anti-seduction' training, the Financial Times reported. 

He is also accused of telling her that she had not been promoted because a client had said she was 'gagging for it' at a meeting. 

Gasparovic is suing the multi-billion dollar firm for €1.3million (£1.1million) in damages and compensation over accusations of sexual harassment, gender discrimination and unfair dismissal.

LHMV has refuted the claims, and has filed a lawsuit against her for defamation after she posted the allegations to social media. A defamation trial is expected in the autumn. 

In her dismissal letter, reported by the FT, Moët Hennessy said she was being fired for impersonating another employee on a call while on sick leave, and for making threatening remarks to colleagues, though she had denied all these allegations. 

Before she was made to leave, she reportedly submitted a whistleblowing report to the firm in which she detailed her allegations of harassment and discrimination, though according to a legal complaint she filed the firm did not carry out a formal investigation. 

Mark Stead, the company's former chief operating officer who is in a relationship with Gasparovic, was reportedly sacked for allegedly misusing travel and expenses resources shortly after he accompanied her to meetings with HR.

Since her sacking, around a dozen people have reportedly come forward to reveal a series of executive departures 'related to a toxic workplace environment where bullying and mismanagement were problems'.

At least four female employees at Moët Hennessy's Paris headquarters have reported bullying and harassment before leaving. Three of those who filed complaints at employment tribunals have since settled with the firm. 

Several women allegedly complained about being the subject of unfounded rumours about having affairs with men at the company. 

According to the FT, after one woman told HR that people were spreading false rumours that she had slept with a male executive to get work opportunities, she was simply told to 'get used to it'.