Debrahlee Lorenzana: Too hot for work?
Citibank allegedly gave a curvaceous employee the ax for being too beautiful. Is that believable?
A 33-year-old single mom has filed a gender discrimination suit against global financial giant Citibank, claiming she was dismissed because her naturally curvy body was "too distracting" to her male colleagues. Before being let go from a Citibank branch in New York City, Lorenzana was allegedly told to "refrain from wearing certain items of clothing"—including turtlenecks and pencil skirts—that might draw attention to her figure. For its part, Citibank maintains she was terminated for poor performance. Is Lorenzana's story credible? This is simply another "disturbing example of discrimination in a male-dominated workplace," says Anna N. in Jezebel. Ordinarily, "people who are good-looking get better jobs and promoted faster than people who are not," notes Jessica Pressler in New York. Maybe this is the exception that proves the rule? Watch an interview with Lorenzana:
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What will the US economy look like in 2026?Today’s Big Question Wall Street is bullish, but uncertain
-
Alaa Abd el-Fattah: should Egyptian dissident be stripped of UK citizenship?Today's Big Question Resurfaced social media posts appear to show the democracy activist calling for the killing of Zionists and police
-
Biggest political break-ups and make-ups of 2025The Explainer From Trump and Musk to the UK and the EU, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a round-up of the year’s relationship drama