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Content warning: This story discusses rape and sexual assault.
Five women have come forward and accused Mohamed Al-Fayed of rape.
The late ex-Harrods owner, whose son Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em “Dodi” Fayed is the former boyfriend of the late Princess Diana and also died in her infamous 1997 car crash, has been accused of sexual assault by more than 20 female ex-employees, five of whom who describe their experiences as rape, according to over 20 accounts from anonymous women who spoke to the BBC.
“Mohamed Al-Fayed was a monster, a sexual predator with no moral compass whatsoever,” said an anonymous woman, who told the BBC she was a teenager when Fayed raped her, noting that female employees at Harrods were considered his, “playthings.”
She added, “We were all so scared. He actively cultivated fear. If he said ‘jump’ employees would ask ‘how high.’”
Upon being informed of the allegations against Fayed—who died in 2023 at the age of 94—the current owners of the upscale department store apologized, telling the BBC they were “utterly appalled” by the accusations.
Women who provided statements to the BBC claimed that the assaults occurred in Harrods’ offices, in Fayed’s London apartment, in his Villa Windsor property, or during foreign trips, often in the Ritz hotel in Paris, which he owned.
Former employees—both male and female—told the BBC that it was “very clear” what was happening as the former Harrods owner would identify “young female assistants” and promote them to work in his offices.
One former male employee, Tony Leeming, who was a department manager from 1994 to 2004, emphasized, “I think if I knew, everybody knew. Anyone who says they didn't are lying, I'm sorry.”
Danny Martindale/WireImage
Meanwhile, another employee given the pseudonym of Alice detailed the frightening day-to-day.
“We all watched each other walk through that door thinking, ‘you poor girl, it's you today,’” she described. “And feeling utterly powerless to stop it.”
Women who were interviewed noted that Fayed’s assaults were even more aggressive while on company trips—with one woman providing a description of waking up “startled” to find Fayed standing over her in nothing but a silk dressing gown.
She went on to describe him raping her, after which she cried and he told her to “aggressively” wash herself with the antiseptic disinfectant Dettol.
BBC reports that "many" women who were promoted to work more closely to Fayed alleged they were given “invasive” sexual health tests. And while the tests were described as a perk, many were not given their results—which were, however, sent to Fayed.
“There is no benefit to anybody knowing what my sexual health is, unless you're planning to sleep with somebody,” a woman identified as Katherine, who was an executive assistant in 2005, told the outlet. “Which I find very chilling now.”
In a statement to the BBC, Harrods condemned Fayed’s alleged actions, noting they had been taken by an individual “intent on abusing his power.”
“The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010,” the statement read. “It is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.”
For free, confidential help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or visit rainn.org.
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