The former soft-porn actress at the centre of the scandal that has cost Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd his job says she is “surprised and saddened” at the outcome. “That was never my intention,” said former actress and reality-show contestant Jody Fisher, pictured.
A letter from Jody Fisher – not to be confused with Hollywood stars Carrie Fisher or Jodie Foster – in late June accused Hurt of sexual harassment, triggering a board investigation. Hurd was cleared of the harassment charges, but the investigation found he had fiddled his expenses while accompanying Fisher on sales promotional trips across the US.
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Both Fisher and Hurd have denied having had any sexual relationship. Hurd, who is married, is said to have settled the matter with Fisher for an undisclosed sum.
Fisher, who is now 50, appeared in soft-porn movies when in her 30s, including films titled Intimate Obsession and Body of Influence 2. In 2007 she appeared in a reality TV show in which women competed for the attention of former Australian tennis star Mark Philippoussis.
In recent times she had been hired by Hurd as a hostess, introducing him at “executive summit meetings”, exclusive gatherings where H-P officials wooed top customers.
Shares of HP fell more than 7% on Monday, three days after Mark Hurd resigned as the company’s chairman, president and CEO following the internal investigation into the possible sexual harassment of former soft porn star Jodie Fisher who has been described as a HP contractor.
The board has named CFO Cathie Lesjak, a 24-year HP veteran, as interim CEO.
Hurd’s problems reportedly began in June, when the company received a letter alleging sexual harassment from a woman who over the weekend identified herself as Jodie Fisher, an actress who had appeared several racy “R”-rated movies during the early 1990s, as well as the NBC reality show, “Age of Love.”
In a letter released by her lawyer, Gloria Allred, Fisher wrote, “I was surprised and saddened that Mark Hurd lost his job over this. That was never my intention.”
HP, meanwhile, has formed a search committee to find Hurd’s replacement.
