After dismissed assistant Amanda Donaldson told court that staff were afraid of her bad moods, the 'Harry Potter' series author issues a statement explaining reasons behind the 2017 firing.

AceShowbiz - J.K. Rowling has issued a statement attacking a former employee, accused of stealing $30,400 (£24,000) from her, for making negative claims about her in court.

The "Harry Potter" author is suing her ex-personal assistant Amanda Donaldson, 35, who she fired last year (17), alleging she stole money by making unauthorised purchases on company credit cards and by taking cash and merchandise without permission.

Giving evidence at Airdrie Sheriff Court in Scotland on Tuesday, December 18, Donaldson claimed the writer was "generous but unapproachable" and that her staff were "terrified" of her bad moods.

Rowling has now hit back in a statement commenting on the civil case and her dismissed assistant's claims.

"Ms Rowling does not accept the position as stated by Amanda Donaldson in her evidence, and does not find that she has adequately explained her excessive spending on the business credit card or the missing items and cash," the statement to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper read.

The 53-year-old's team stated that Donaldson was fired for "gross misconduct involving a substantial breach of trust" and accused her of attempting to blame other staff when asked to explain the excessive spending.

The former PA is accused of blowing $1,880 (£1,482) worth of luxury candles, spending $4,600 (£3629) on cosmetics, and buying two cats worth $1,520 (£1,200) among other items. It is also alleged she took $9,800 (£7,742) of foreign money from a safe and stole "Harry Potter" merchandise worth more than $4,100 (£3,200).

Rowling, who is worth an estimated $608 million (£480 million), claims she had "no option" but to bring the case "to protect the reputation of her existing staff, and to ensure Ms Donaldson is not in the position to breach the trust of another employer."

Follow AceShowbiz.com @ Google News

You can share this post!

You might also like
Related Posts