Former Tinder chief Rosette Pambakian sues Match for wrongful termination after sexual assault

Tinder’s former head of marketing and communications is filing a lawsuit against the app’s parent companies and former CEO Greg Blatt. The lawsuit claims that Rosette Pambakian was wrongfully fired from the company after she went public with her sexual assault allegations against Blatt.

Pambakian claims that Blatt sexually assaulted her back in 2016 at a Tinder holiday party in an employee’s hotel rooms paid for by the company. Pambakian made headlines August last year when she detailed the harrowing assault to CNN. She said at the time, “My biggest nightmare had come to life in that moment … and my job as Tinder’s head of communications was to protect the company and make sure we were always portrayed positively in the press,” she said. “The irony that I had to now protect the company from myself was not lost on me.”

Match responded to Pambakian going public saying in a statement that the company “conducted a careful and thorough investigation under the direction of independent Board members, concluded, among other things, that there was no violation of law or company policy, and took appropriate action.” Pambakian was then terminated from her position in December.

“[Match and IAC] engaged in a sham investigation conducted by biased executives in an effort to conceal and discredit the sexual assault suffered by [Pambakian],” Pambakian’s new lawsuit says. “Only when faced with the fact that they could no longer keep the assault quiet, did the Company Defendants take any action.”

She is seeking compensation for damages including emotional distress, economic damages from medical expenses, out of pocket expenses, lost earnings and earning capacity.

Christian Woods
Christian Woods
Christian is a morning reporter and technology columnist for Best in Australia. Christian has worked in the media since 2000, in a range of locations. He joined Best in Australia in 2018, and began working in Melbourne in 2019.
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