Last night, a reader emailed us why we hadn't been covering the sexual harassment trial against hip-hop monthly The Source and its founders, Raymond "Benzino" Scott and David Mays. The trial has wrapped up already -a federal jury in Manhattan ordered the defendants to pay $14.5 million to former editor in chief Kimberly Osorio- and it looks like we missed a doozy of a trial.
Some choice bits to come out of the trial:
• Benzino left a message on Ozone EIC Julia Beverly's voicemail calling her a "cracker bitch" and "slut monkey" (mp3).
• "I'm so tired of misrepresentation in the courtroom," Mercedes Colwin, attorney for Benzino and partner Dave Mays, shouted in the courtroom. "Let me calm down. There are individuals in this courtroom. Is that why you're doing this?"
• How did Zino respond to the charge that he touched Osorio's underwear and said Ashanti had a "fat pussy"? "What I felt is there was a bulge," Benzino responded. "Her pussy had a bulge".
Oh, you slay us, Benzino. There's more good stuff at SOHH.com, which has really been on top of the case. And the hostile work environment was just one of The Source's many problems, which included unpaid bills and Benzino ordering hit pieces on his enemies in the industry, Eminem and 50 Cent. A Vilage Voice piece from last November covers the magazine's fall from grace pretty well.
Mays and Zino were fired earlier this year, and they launched a new magazine this month, the cute and cuddly Hip Hop Weekly.
The Source Sex Trial Day 7 [AM]: Benzino Denies "Slut Monkey" Slur, But Notices Ashanti's "Bulge" [SOHH]
Hip-hop mag bagged [NYDN]
Idolator Called It: The Greatest Day Of Our Nearly One-Month-Old Existence [Idolator]
The Source Under Fire [VV]
