Peter Thiel’s Husband Sued a Flight Attendant Who Says He Assaulted Her on a Private Jet

The backstage pitchy Peter Thiel and his household were utilizing had 2 bathrooms, but somehow, connected July 13, 2024, neither was readily available. One successful the backmost of the pitchy was stuffed with luggage. The other, according to 1 tribunal filing, was being utilized to store cooler bags with nutrient and room equipment. What happened adjacent has go the taxable of a national suit featuring claims of an alleged battle arsenic good arsenic disputes implicit workers’ compensation and whether a confidentiality statement tin halt a erstwhile formation attendant from suing the hubby of 1 of the planet’s richest people.

Stefanie Bojar, the formation attendant astatine the halfway of the dispute, was employed by Solairus Aviation—which did not instantly respond to a petition for comment—but had worked much than 200 flights for Thiel and his husband, Matthew Danzeisen. On that July flight, Bojar says, Danzeisen—who is besides the caput of backstage investments astatine Thiel Capital—shoved her speech and threw aggregate dense cooler bags astatine her, knocking her into the craft partition and leaving her collapsed connected the compartment floor. She claims that Danzeisen’s actions caused superior injuries to her ankle and knee.

Danzeisen says helium was clearing bags from the bath truthful 1 of his children could usage it. At most, helium says, 1 of the bags whitethorn person accidentally brushed Bojar’s leg.

(Like the different claims successful this communicative attributed to Bojar and Danzeisen, these were made successful tribunal filings.)

In May, Danzeisen preemptively sued Bojar successful the Central District of California’s Southern Division—after, helium says, she sent a “demand letter” respective months earlier. While 1 of Bojar’s attorneys, Elliott Jung, tells WIRED the missive was an effort to resoluteness the quality extracurricular courts, Danzeisen’s ailment describes Bojar arsenic waging “a run to extort” him and his husband. Characterizing Bojar arsenic a erstwhile formation attendant with a checkered aviation career, the ailment accuses her of launching a “defamation campaign” and violating a confidentiality agreement, and asks the tribunal to fundamentally enforce a gag bid and grant existent and punitive damages.

Bojar denied the allegations successful a counterclaim filed Tuesday, adding Thiel Capital arsenic a suspect and alleging battery, assault, affectional distress, and negligent supervision. Rejecting the characterization of her vocation arsenic “checkered,” she alleges that Thiel Capital unit helped coordinate the backstage aviation relationship connected which she worked, knew oregon should person known astir Danzeisen’s alleged behaviour toward formation crew, and failed to intervene earlier oregon aft the July 2024 incident.

In an interview, Bojar’s lawyer called Danzeisen’s preemptive suit a “bullying tactic” designed to intimidate a erstwhile formation attendant who had been injured connected a plane.

“Just due to the fact that you person wealth,” Jung said, “doesn’t mean that you person the close to conscionable wounded people.”

“This is simply a shakedown astir a container that bumped into someone’s leg, and we bash not wage retired to shakedowns,” said Alex Spiro, an lawyer for Danzeisen, successful a statement. “So we volition spot everyone successful court.”

According to some filings, the formation was scheduled to question from Sun Valley, Idaho, to Washington, DC, connected July 13, 2024, coincidently the aforesaid time Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt astatine a run rally successful Butler, Pennsylvania. But the level had a superior retention problem.

Bojar says a idiosyncratic adjunct of Thiel told the unit that the family’s luggage would get successful 2 deliveries, disrupting the accustomed process of loading bags earlier passengers boarded. With nary crushed assistance, Bojar, the pilot, and the archetypal serviceman had to load and signifier the bags themselves.

By the clip Thiel’s household boarded, Bojar says, the compartment was tightly packed. According to her filing, excess luggage blocked the rear bathroom, portion the beforehand bath was being utilized arsenic overflow retention for cooler bags and room instrumentality from a backstage chef.