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'America's Next Top Model' Judge Sued for Sexual Harassment

By Laura Strachan, Esq. on November 10, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Former America's Next Top Model judge Nole Marin is being sued for sexual harassment by an aspiring model that claims the fashion expert wanted him to do more than just strike a pose. Nicholas Hamman-Howe alleges that the unwanted sexual advances date back to 2007 and continued until 2010.

In the suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the aspiring model alleges that he never considered modeling as a career until meeting Marin who complimented his physique. Marin told Hamman-Howe that, "modeling is a very sexy industry and it is all about who you know." Hamman-Howe claims that Marin touched him on multiple occasions and also promised him stardom in exchange for sex, according to the Styleite.

The charge of unwelcome sexual advances is a form of sexual harassment that can have legal and reputational consequences for Nole Marin. If the allegations of the suit are true, this type of behavior falls under the quid pro quo class of sexual harassment. Quid pro quo describes those situations in which a person in power (Marin) uses his position to demand sexual favors in return for advancements or to threaten an individual's job security.

Although Hamman-Howe was not an employee of Marin's in the traditional sense, he does argue that he felt his career was in the hands of the highly-respected fashion guru. Some factors for review in any sexual harassment case include: frequency of inappropriate behavior, context of the alleged harassment, conduct of the victim, and the severity of the behavior. Marin's manager told The New York Post that there is, "There is no truth to any of the claims."

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