The woman involved in the ethics scandal that brought about Hewlett-Packard chief executive Mark Hurd’s resignation Friday identified herself on Sunday as Jodie Fisher, a 50-year-old actress who has appeared in “steamy movies” with titles like Intimate Obsession, Sheer Passion and Body of Influence 2, as well as taken part in a NBC reality TV dating show. Hurd resigned Friday after a board investigation sparked by Fisher’s June 29 letter, which accused Hurd of sexual harassment.
The board said Friday it had not found Hurd guilty of violating the company’s sexual harassment policy, but had asked him to resign after uncovering expense irregularities during the investigation. Fisher said she never thought her letter would end up costing Hurd his job, claiming she was “surprised and saddened that [he] lost his job over this” and explaining “that was never my intention.”
“Mark and I never had an affair or intimate sexual relationship,” Fisher said. “I have resolved my claim with Mark privately, without litigation, and I do not intend to comment on it further.”
Fisher’s lawyer, Gloria Allred, said Fisher is a single mother with a young son who also once served as the vice president of a commercial real estate company. Her “most recent work,” as the Times puts it, was on the NBC reality show Age of Love, in which a group of 13 women competed for the love of tennis star Mark Philippoussis. The Times notes, somewhat cruelly, that Fisher was the first one eliminated on the show.
Actress Is Identified in Hewlett-Packard Scandal [NYT]
Woman in Hurd Case Regrets Dismissal [WSJ]
