A part-time stripper fired from her full-time newspaper job covering Texas high society claims she's a victim of gender discrimination.
(KTRH) A part-time stripper fired from her full-time newspaper job covering Texas high society claims she's a victim of gender discrimination.
Sarah Tressler, 30, filed a complaint this week asking the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate the Houston Chronicle's decision to let her go after another paper revealed her second job.
Tressler covered high society, general assignments, human interest stories, men's and women's fashion and other stories for the newspaper for two months, Tressler said at a Los Angeles news conference Thursday. But she "very rarely" worked as a dancer, a skill that helped her pay for college, she said.
"Sometimes I would just go in for three hours at a time to get a workout in because stage rotation, if you're doing it in 7-inch heels, is a really good way to get a workout in," Tressler said. "And I didn't have a gym membership. So, on days off I might just go in there in the afternoon and do a couple stage rotations and knock it out."
A rival newspaper, tipped off by an online blog titled "Diary of an Angry Stripper" she wrote anonymously, published a story about her background in March.
She was soon told by an editor that she was fired for not disclosing her dancing experience on her job application, Tressler said. "There was no question on the form that covered my dancing. I answered the questions on the form honestly."
"I was very upset that I was fired, because I had been told by many editors that I was doing a good job," Tressler said.
Gloria Allred, a Beverly Hills lawyer known for championing high-profile cases involving women's rights, is representing her. She called the firing gender discrimination, which is covered by federal law.
The Houston Chronicle has declined to comment about the firing or lawsuit.
Read more: KTRH
