The female Google executive who was accused of groping a male colleague by patting his stomach while complimenting his “nice body” denied the allegations and claimed his time at the tech giant was “marked by repeated instances of misconduct toward women,” according to a new court filing.
Tiffany Miller, Google’s director of programmatic media, hit back in court last week at her accuser, Ryan Olahan, 48, who alleges that he was fired last summer after he rejected her advances.
Miller’s lawyers slammed Olahan for his “attempts to recast himself as a victim,” which are “particularly ironic in light of his troubled tenure at Google, which was marked by repeated instances of misconduct toward women and subordinates,” according to the filing in Manhattan federal court.
The Post has sought comment from Miller’s attorneys, who did not specify in court papers the nature of Olahan’s alleged “misconduct toward women.”
Miller’s attorneys said Olahan was fired by Google “based on his documented misconduct” and “with cause after a thorough investigation of complaints by numerous employees,” according to the filing.
Alex Rissmiller, an attorney for Olahan, told The Post: “Mr. Olohan’s complaint details his record of leadership and integrity, which Google consistently recognized for over 15 years.”
“We are disappointed by Google’s refusal to take accountability and look forward to vindicating Mr. Olohan’s rights,” Rissmiller told The Post on Thursday.
The Post reached out to Google seeking comment.
Miller “not only vehemently denies that she engaged in any improprieties whatsoever in her interactions with Olahan, she also categorically denies that she had anything to do with his termination,” according to the court filing.
Her attorneys also denied Miller was “very drunk” when she allegedly berated Olahan “in front of numerous Google employees,” telling him that she “disagreed with him 70% of the time” and “did not like him 70% of the time,” the filing said.
Miller acknowledged apologizing to Olahan for “raising [his] mistreatment of his co-workers in front of others,” according to the court papers filed last week.
Olahan, Google’s former director of food, beverage, and restaurants, filed suit last fall accusing Miller of rubbing his stomach at a company dinner and complimenting him for having “such a nice body.”
Miller, who is Asian American, is also alleged to have remarked to Olahan that he was a handsome man whose marriage to his Asian wife lacked “spice,” according to court documents.
Olahan, who is white, alleges in the suit that Miller knew about his wife’s ethnicity when she made the remark, according to court papers.
Attorneys for Miller categorically denied the allegations.
They alleged in court papers that Olahan created a “fictional account” in order to “blame others for his own significant shortcomings.”
A spokesperson for Miller told The Post last week: “This lawsuit is a fictional account of events filled with numerous falsehoods, fabricated by a disgruntled ex-employee, who was senior to Ms. Miller at Google.”
“Ms. Miller never made any ‘advance’ toward Mr. Olohan, which witnesses can readily corroborate,” the rep said.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
