How Katie Puris was fired after challenging the company’s culture
FOKUS NEWS - Katie Puris, who used to be the global brand chief of TikTok, has filed a lawsuit against the company for gender discrimination and wrongful termination.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in New York, Ms Puris faced sexist and ageist treatment from Bytedance’s chairman Lidong Zhang and other executives.
She alleges that:
- She was isolated and excluded after giving a presentation in front of Mr Zhang, who expected women to be “quiet” and “humble”
- She was subjected to age discrimination by other senior leaders, who preferred to hire younger and more compliant employees. Ms Puris was 49 years old when she worked at TikTok
- She was fired in “retaliation” after she complained about the sexism and ageism at the company
Ms Puris joined TikTok in 2019, when the video-sharing app was rapidly expanding in the US.
The “996” work culture of TikTok
The lawsuit also claims that TikTok’s US staff were forced to adopt the intense work culture of its Chinese parent company, Bytedance.
This meant working “996” - from 9am to 9pm, six days a week.
Ms Puris said this culture was unfair and harmful to older employees and those with family responsibilities.
She also claims she was sexually harassed by an executive from another company at a work event, and that TikTok failed to handle the situation properly.
She was sacked in September 2022, for performance reasons, according to the company.
TikTok did not comment on the lawsuit.
This is not the first time TikTok has been accused of mistreating women.
In 2022, the Financial Times reported that a senior male executive had said he “didn’t believe in maternity leave” to UK staff, sparking an internal investigation.