TikTok stars in Beverly Hills content mansions 'were bullied by boss'
TikTok influencers hired to live rent-free in luxury ‘content mansions’ including $42k-a-month Beverly Hills house say they were bullied by boss who forced them on dates and made jokes about their periods
- Amir Ben-Yohanan, the 48-year-old CEO of Clubhouse Media Group (CMG), is accused of mistreating teens as young as 15 while they stayed at the company’s mansions
- Several said he was ‘very aggressive’ about setting up dates for his young stars
- One former member in her early 20s recalled the CEO texting her saying he was sending her a ‘boyfriend’ to the CMG BH property in Beverly Hills
- She said he told her to ‘make sure you look nice’ and ‘put your makeup on’
- In another incident, Ben-Yohanan allegedly brushed off concerns that influencers were being overworked by telling them they must be on their period
- CMG responded to claims saying it aims to ‘grow, learn, course-correct’
- CMG was co-founded by Ben-Yohanan in early 2020, and is a completely different company to the popular audio chat app Clubhouse
- It offers young influencers the opportunity to stay rent-free at content houses in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Europe in exchange for creating branded content
- The social media stars staying in the houses range in age from around 15 to 24 with some so young that their parents accompany them on their visits
TikTok influencers who lived rent-free in $42,000-a-month ‘content mansions’ have claimed they were bullied into dates and jabbed about periods by the influencer furu who hired them.
Amir Ben-Yohanan, the 48-year-old CEO of Clubhouse Media Group (CMG), is accused of mistreating teens as young as 15, screaming at them and making misogynistic comments while they stayed at the company’s lavish mansions.
CMG was co-founded by Ben-Yohanan in early 2020, offering young influencers the opportunity to stay rent-free at so-called content houses in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Europe in exchange for creating branded social media content. One of the flashiest properties was a huge house in Beverly Hills, nicknamed the BH Mansion, which rents for $42,000 a month.
Social media stars staying in the houses range in age from around 15 to 24 with some so young that their parents accompany them on their visits.
In just over a year, the company has become a $742 million-dollar business with much of that value believed to have come from people buying up stocks they mistakenly believed were for popular new social media app Clubhouse, which sees invited users share audio files. Clubhouse and CMG have no ties.
TikTok influencers who lived rent-free in $42,000-a-month content mansions have claimed they were bullied by the boss who forced them on unwanted dates and blamed their complaints on them being on their periods. Two influencers are pictured at CMG’s Beverly Hills mansion
The $42,000-a-month Clubhouse BH mansion in Beverly Hills where social media stars as young as 15 stayed for free in exchange for posting content
A total of 19 former and current house members and staff members have now spoken out to Business Insider about their alleged treatment at the hands of start-up, with several describing a culture where Ben-Yohanan was ‘very aggressive’ about setting up dates for his young stars.
One former member, who remained anonymous but was in her early 20s, recalled one incident where the CEO text her saying he was sending her a ‘boyfriend’ to the Clubhouse BH property in Beverly Hills where she was staying.
‘I was single, and I remember Amir texting me — I guess he had some guests coming over to the house — and he said he had this guy that was going to be my boyfriend,’ she told the outlet.
She said Ben-Yohanan told her to ‘make sure you look nice’ and ‘make sure you put your makeup on.’
The former member said the encounter made her feel ‘sick.’
Another ex-member at the Clubhouse Next house in LA, which is now closed, also recalled being encouraged by Ben-Yohanan to go on dates, describing it as ‘very uncomfortable.’
‘He was very aggressive when it came to the whole dating scene,’ she said.
‘It just was a very uncomfortable, weird feeling,’ she said.
One influencer said Ben-Yohanan made comments about her having slept with a lot of people when she refused to go on one of the dates he set up.
In total, seven social media stars and staff members across the property portfolio confirmed Ben-Yohanan tried to set house members up with other influencers in order to get good content.
Amir Ben-Yohanan, the 48-year-old CEO of Clubhouse Media Group, is accused of mistreating teens as young as 15, screaming at them and making misogynistic comments while they stayed at the company’s lavish mansions. Clubhouse BH home above
Influencers pose around the $42,000 a month Beverly Hills mansion rented by the company
In another incident, Ben-Yohanan allegedly brushed off concerns that influencers were being overworked by telling them they must be on their period.
These allegations were first aired by Sabrina Quesada, 19, in a YouTube video in February.
‘There was this one time where we all literally sitting around the table like, ‘Our mental health is so insanely bad. Like you were overworking us,’ and he replies with, ‘You guys are probably on your period,” she said in the video.
She described her experience as ‘like manipulating teenage girls.’
A former CMG staffer confirmed the incident to Insider but insisted Ben-Yohanan had actually used the phrase ‘times of the month.’
Ben-Yohanan is also accused of telling one former Clubhouse BH member she was ‘not mentally stable enough’ to work in the house because she was always with her boyfriend.
Sabrina Quesada, 19, above who has spoken out about the treatment at Clubhouse
The CEO also allegedly told female members they were ‘mentally weak’, yelled at the influencers and treated their lives like ‘a game.’
‘They were just trying to manipulate all of our roles in the house, almost as if we were playing characters instead of being ourselves,’ said one ex-member.
Others described a culture where the boss was obsessed with numbers and would berate them for not having enough followers.
The company has also been accused of retaliating against members who have spoken out.
In March, it filed two defamation lawsuits against former house members saying they made ‘false and defamatory statements’ about the company and its management.
Other former members told Insider they had also been threatened with lawsuits if they spoke out.
CMG responded to the allegations saying it aims to ‘grow, learn, and course-correct.’
‘When Clubhouse Media Group formed, it endeavored to bring an earnest, professional approach to the content-house industry, an industry that is still very much in its infancy,’ the company told Insider in a statement.
‘As a startup, we have had our share of learning lessons and challenges. Thankfully, we’ve also gotten a lot right.
Quesada, 19, in a YouTube video in February (on far left). In the video she describes an incident where Ben-Yohanan allegedly brushed off concerns that influencers were being overworked by telling them they must be on their period
https://youtube.com/watch?v=2jRatZJ_t84%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1
‘It has been through our challenges that we aim to grow, learn, and course-correct for the good of our team of creators, our employees, and the industry as a whole.’
Since its inception last January, Clubhouse has set up nine houses, three of which have since shuttered – but more are on the way.
The Clubhouse BH mansion is a 12,000-square-foot mansion complete with wine cellar and meditation garden and a $42,000 a month rental tag.
Based just a stone’s throw from the Playboy Mansion, the mansion draws in influencers aged 18 to 24.
At the now defunct Clubhouse Next and Not a Content House – also in LA – influencers were mostly 17 to 21 and 15 to 20 respectively.
The claims about the culture come as the firm’s future appears to be hanging in the balance.
While some houses have shuttered others are springing up but the financials have yo-yoed.
In November, healthcare company Tongji Healthcare Group acquired the company in a reverse takeover that took the company public.
Its value rocketed to $2.5 billion by February but this was thought to have been due to confusion among investors believing they were buying shares in the Clubhouse chat app, which has sparked buzz among tech obsessives.
Since then, CMG’s value has plunged to $742 million and the company admitted in an April filing that it has a history of operating losses and that there is ‘substantial doubt about its ability to continue.’
Clubhouse Media Group was co-founded by Ben-Yohanan in early 2020, offering young influencers the opportunity to stay rent-free at so-called content houses in Los Angeles , Las Vegas and Europe. Clubhouse Europe, located in Malta, is pictured above
An influencer at Clubhouse FTB. In just over a year, the company has become a $742 million-dollar business with much of that value believed to have come from people buying up stocks as they mistook it for the popular invite-only – and completely separate – Clubhouse chat app
Source: Read Full Article