Ex-TikTok Executive Sues Company, Says She Was Put On 'Kill List'

The former head of global marketing at TikTok Inc. stated that she was fired because ByteDance Ltd. Chairman Zhang Lidong and other executives felt she "lacked the docility and meekness" they deemed necessary for female employees. Katie Ellen Puris has sued her former employer for allegedly subjecting her to age-and-sex-based discrimination, Fortune reported. 

"Lidong Zhang's stereotypical view of women, even in leadership roles, was that they should remain quiet and humble at all times," says the lawsuit, which was filed on February 8.  

While others have voiced public grievances about their treatment within the company, Puris stands out as the first prominent TikTok employee to file a discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. division of ByteDance.

According to the lawsuit, Ms Puris alleged that she was silenced, preventing her from promoting her team's achievements during leadership events, and was deprived of one-on-one meetings with Zhang, among other grievances. Before her tenure at TikTok, Puris held senior leadership positions at Meta, Google, and the advertising giant BBDO, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Ms Puris was fired in the fall of 2022 for lacking the "docility and meekness" specifically required of female employees, says the suit.

Filed in the Southern District Court of New York, the lawsuit contributes to TikTok's ongoing challenges. The platform is currently entangled in a contentious dispute regarding compensating artists for the music users include in their videos. 

The document outlined several occasions where Ms Puris purportedly faced unjust treatment due to her gender, citing instances such as alleged sexual harassment at a company event, with TikTok being accused of inadequate response. As per the lawsuit, the company reportedly failed to address discriminatory behaviour despite her complaints, HuffPost reported. 

Ms Puris claimed that by 2021, she had been included in Zhang's "kill list," purportedly designed to encourage employee turnover by fostering a toxic work environment.

According to Thursday's lawsuit, Ms Puris was stressed by being placed on Zhang's kill list, saying that this led to health concerns and even surgeries.

Ms Puri is represented by the Wigdor law firm. In a statement on the firm's website, Wigdor attorneys Marjorie Mesidor and Monica Hincken said that they "look forward to vindicating" their client's rights, adding that Puris had achieved success as a TikTok employee.

"Yet, when she began complaining about the discriminatory treatment she received and the Company's failure to properly handle her sexual harassment complaint, she swiftly suffered retaliatory consequences that resulted in her unlawful termination," the attorneys wrote.

Ms Puris said that throughout her years working as a woman, she was taught to remain quiet if she wanted to be successful. "Gender discrimination and sexual harassment were commonplace, but speaking out was career suicide," Puris said. "Wisdom has taught me that I no longer need to be silenced or afraid to fight for change."