• Home
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • LAD Originals

U OK M8?
Free To Be
Extinct
Citizen Reef

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Not now
OK
Advert
Advert
Advert

Boss Says He Was Discussing Austin Powers Character Ivana Humpalot, Not Propositioning Female Employee

Joe Harker

Published 
| Last updated 

Boss Says He Was Discussing Austin Powers Character Ivana Humpalot, Not Propositioning Female Employee

A tech boss who was sued for texting a female employee says he was just discussing a character from Austin Powers.

Sasha Sasheva was awarded £17,607.67 in compensation after a tribunal ruling decreed that Ala Uddin had been guilty of 'a nasty and serious abuse of power'.

In an attempt to overturn the tribunal's verdict, Uddin claimed that the text message he'd sent to Sasheva saying 'I vanna humpalot' was actually a reference to a movie character.

In Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Ivana Humpalot (Kristen Johnston) is a Russian agent hired by Dr Evil (Mike Myers) to kill Austin Powers (also Mike Myers).

Advert
Kristen Johnston as Ivana Humpalot and Mike Myers as Austin Powers in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Credit: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy Stock Photo
Kristen Johnston as Ivana Humpalot and Mike Myers as Austin Powers in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Credit: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy Stock Photo

Instead, she ends up in bed with the International Man of Mystery thanks to his irresistible mojo, which he loses in the middle of having sex with her after Dr Evil steals it.

Despite Uddin's protests that he was just trying to initiate a conversation about a side character from a 1999 movie to one of his employees via text message, the initial judgement of the tribunal will stand.

Sasheva started working as the only employee for Uddin's tech firm All Techmarket UK in 2020.

Advert

She said when they were in the office together her boss stared at her 'so much so it made her feel uncomfortable'.

The tribunal was told that in addition to texting her 'I vanna humpalot', Uddin also sent Sasheva a message saying 'Love... when are we going to f**k?' a month after she started working for him, MailOnline reports.

She said she got a text from him asking if she was home alone before spotting her boss 'hanging around her flat', she eventually resigned from the job.

Uddin claimed that Sasheva had propositioned him for sex on her first day of the job and tried to kiss him on her last day, but judges said his evidence of her advances onto him 'seems implausible'.

Advert
As a spy spoof of the James Bond films, Austin Powers movies had plenty of ridiculous names. Credit: PictureLux/The Hollywood Archive/Alamy Stock Photo
As a spy spoof of the James Bond films, Austin Powers movies had plenty of ridiculous names. Credit: PictureLux/The Hollywood Archive/Alamy Stock Photo

Employment judge Sarah Moor said Sasheva 'did not feel safe' around Uddin, who made her 'feel extremely uncomfortable, and nervous'.

Judge Moor said: "I have no doubt that by the time she resigned she was scared, extremely upset and angry.

"She had been forced to leave her job because of unlawful sexual harassment in the form of propositions from her boss and only other member of staff."

Advert

"The behaviour was nasty sexual harassment by Mr Uddin in the form of sexual propositions and standing outside home. It was an abuse of his power as her employer."

Featured Image Credit: New Line Cinema

Topics: UK News, TV and Film

Joe Harker
More like this
Advert
Advert
Advert

Chosen for YouChosen for You

News

Commuters in shock as porn clip plays for 3 minutes on screens at railway station

29 minutes ago

Most Read StoriesMost Read

McDonald's announces return of Chicken Big Macs

8 hours ago