Russ & Daughters Publicist’s Instagram Lands American Apparel Exec in Trouble

Russ & Daughters publicist Jen Snow has had a busy few months overseeing the public image of her 100-year-old employer’s launch of its first cafe. Her Instagram account was the source of many teasers as the Orchard Street restaurant emerged from its wraps. But this week, Snow’s social media skills landed her in the spotlight for a completely unrelated reason: photos she snapped of ousted American Apparel founder and former CEO Dov Charney in the East Houston Street clothing store document him apparently violating an agreement that bans him from the company’s properties.

Yesterday afternoon, BuzzFeed picked up on the photos Snow posted Monday. From the story:

Charney appears in two different photos taken about 19 hours ago at the American Apparel store on East Houston Street in New York. The user, @jensnow, writes: “Dov Charney is in the American Apparel store on East Houston Street. I asked the employees at the counter if it was him, and one nodded ‘yes’ tentatively, and the other asked me, ‘And how was your day at work?’ with an intonation of palpable discomfort.” (Snow is a publicist.)

According to Charney’s termination letter from June 18, a copy of which was obtained by BuzzFeed last month, the executive is not supposed to visit company facilities during his suspension. (The termination will be effective after a 30-day period.) That’s “including but not limited to its manufacturing facilities, headquarters, distribution center, apartments and stores.” The visit would be OK if Charney got “advance written permission” from the board, and the request was “tied directly to an attempt to cure the violations and misconduct” described in his termination letter.

Tobias Keller, American Apparel’s interim general counsel, declined to comment beyond the letter. When asked about the visit by BuzzFeed, Charney said he’s not doing interviews, adding, “You’re on your own, buh-bye, thank you.” Requests to the board for comment weren’t immediately returned.

Charney, who was fired June 18, is embroiled in a messy legal battle stemming from allegations of misconduct and the clothing retailer’s financial struggles, which have been the subject of stormy headlines in recent weeks, including a July 2 piece in the Times.