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Perry Ellis settles explosive lawsuit alleging racism, homophobia

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Social Links for Lisa Fickenscher
Published Jan. 13, 2016, 12:37 p.m. ET

Perry Ellis has settled an explosive lawsuit that accused the apparel company’s president and COO of being a racist homophobe, The Post has learned.

The Miami-based apparel company said the complaint filed in October by senior exec Joseph Cook was “amicably resolved” and that as of Jan. 22, he will no longer work for the company where he had been president of the wholesale division of Original Penguin.

Perry Ellis also provided a statement on behalf of Cook, who is openly gay, in which he appears to retract the allegations in his complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.

“Perry Ellis is a diverse and inclusive company, and has always been so,” Cook said. “My overall tenure at the company demonstrates that the comments I complained about are not reflective of the overall culture of Perry Ellis, the character of its leadership, or the Feldenkreis family.”

The company said in a statement that Cook, 49, resigned his position “on his own.”

The publicly held company is largely controlled by the Feldenkreis family; George is the chairman and CEO and his son, Oscar is the president and heir apparent.

Oscar FeldenkreisWireImage

Cook said Oscar told him and his team to make sure there are “no blacks in my ads” or “anyone who looked too gay,” according to the complaint.

He also alleged that management retaliated against him when he complained about the company’s discriminatory practices. The company denied the allegations at the time.

Cook said his change of heart was a result of “a lot of dialogue and reflection” since October, when the suit was filed, according to his statement.

In an interview on Tuesday, George Feldenkreis said he believes Perry Ellis “employs a higher percentage of minorities than any other apparel company in the industry. We don’t have issues with blacks, women, gay people or Hispanics,” he said. “I’m Hispanic myself.”

The company declined to comment on whether it settled the lawsuit with a financial payment. Cook’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.