‘UNHINGED’: TikTok boss placed on leave after allegedly bullying women

Article content

TikToxic? Maybe.

Article content

A senior TikTok exec in charge of the app’s operations in Central Europe has been placed on leave, according to reports, over allegations that he heads up a toxic work environment in which female subordinates are allegedly bullied, “mansplained” and sexually harassed, according to several complaints.

Article content

Tobias Henning, general manager of TikTok’s operations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, was allegedly such a tyrant that one pregnant staffer avoided meeting him for fear that the stress might harm her unborn child, one complaint obtained by the New York Post claimed.

“This man is f****** unhinged,” one female employee wrote in a text message to a colleague describing her boss after a one-on-one meeting, the Post reported.

Article content

Article content

TikTok staffers in Germany on Monday were informed that Henning was placed on leave while the company investigates the complaints, according to Fast Company.

Several women in TikTok’s Berlin offices alleged that Henning displayed “unpredictable” mood swings characterized by “a sudden and drastic change in attitude” that reduced them to tears, according to the complaint reviewed by the Post.

A staffer who worked under Henning before leaving the firm in July 2022 claimed in a formal internal complaint that he subjected her to “misogynistic behaviour and sexual harassment, especially derogatory comments, lack of respect and mansplaining,” the Post reported.

Article content

When she reported the incidents to human resources, “she did not receive any support,” and HR reps “disregarded her concerns and tried to shut her down,” it was alleged in the complaint.

Another woman who remains employed by TikTok in Germany alleged that she experienced a “nervous collapse” and was subjected to “severe psychological distress” following a June 8, 2023, meeting with Henning where he allegedly “exerted significant pressure” on her and told her that she wasn’t “performing her duties adequately.”

Henning did not reply to multiple requests for comment from the Post.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Article content