A former Bay Area tech CEO was fired earlier this year after allegedly enslaving, torturing, and sexually abusing his assistant. He claims the pair had a consensual relationship that people would “celebrate” if it were fictitious.
Former Tradeshift CEO Christian Lanng denied the allegations levied against him and the billion-dollar company he co-founded that were made by a former employee in court Thursday.
"The shocking and vile claims in the lawsuit are categorically false, and I reject allegations that I subjected someone to any form of abuse during my tenure as CEO or at any other time of my life,” Lanng told The Messenger.
In the complaint, an unidentified woman alleged that Lanng sent her into “a dark abyss of unwanted sexual horror," according to The Mercury News.
“This person can’t have been abused because they signed a contract”
More specifically, “this person enjoys being abused as can clearly be seen by the fact that they engage in contractual BDSM, a well-known device that kinksters use to negotiate BDSM power exchange.”
The only unethical thing here was hiring the person he was dating - this article is exactly why you don’t do that.
Everything described her aside from their unethical relationship is a sign of a loving kink relationship - like being collared is generally considered a big relationship step in BDSM. This looks like stupidity biting him in the ass more than it looks like abuse.
So any time a contract is signed it’s never coerced or forced in any way? Looks like you figured out abuse. Just make them sign a contract and you’re scott free.
That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that everything described in the article is indicative of these two engaging consensually in the BDSM lifestyle. His mistake was getting his girlfriend a job as his secretary as that adds an ethical component they were not fulfilling.
To people outside of a BDSM relationship, these things can be shocking. I am extremely aware of that. However, anyone in the BDSM lifestyle can instantly recognize what happened here and what mistakes were made.
If you’d like more info on contracts, collaring, and the BDSM lifestyle, here is a good resource:
https://kinkyevents.co.uk/bdsm-contracts-a-beginners-guide/
https://www.serenityinchains.com/what-is-a-bdsm-collar-aka-bondage-collar-and-what-does-it-mean/
The fallout here is similar to a friend of mine being investigated by police after his wife had some serious bruising her coworkers noticed. Not all violence is unwelcome. They cleared it up in one conversation, because they were smart enough to not mix work and play, with all the ethical quandaries that involves.