Big Sur’s alternative wellness retreat is being hit with more allegations of racism after an anonymous employee claimed the institute exploited her labor.
A West Coast retreat, which markets itself as a ‘holistic retreat and educational institute’, came under fire in May after a black female guest accused the posh retreat of being racist.
Now an employee of the company has spoken out anonymously – saying their labor has been exploited and claiming that ‘white individuals with less time, less experience are being promoted over me’.
The Esalen Institute – a retreat in California’s Big Sur – is a popular escape for the rich and famous. Accommodations range from a ‘sleeping bag space’, which costs $900 for four nights, to private suites which cost $8,000.
The employee said: ‘Finally I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ It was worrying that I wasn’t offered a promotion, tormenting white people were promoted over me.’
An employee at the Esalen Institute spoke anonymously and said their labor was exploited, claiming that ‘white individuals with less time, less experience were being promoted over me’.
The retreat inspired the final scenes of the hit show Mad Men, whose troubled anti-hero Don Draper joined a hippie commune overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
According to SFGATEwho spoke to the employee who made the allegations, they worked for the Esalen Institute on and off for 10 years and received room and board at the luxury retreat along with their salary.
The Esalen Institute’s Direct of Operations told SFGATE reporters that Esalen goes “far and above any organization” when it comes to complying with state and federal civil rights and discrimination laws.
The employee was anxious about facing retaliation for speaking out publicly. They said in an email that it was “infuriating to say the least to read that she was quoted saying how, when it comes to state and federal civil rights enforcement and discrimination, the Esalen Institute” far and go above any organization’.
They said: ‘I have brought these issues to her attention several times, and I have been gaslighted all the time.’
TheDailyMail.com has reached out to the Esalen Institute by phone and email for comment on the allegations it faces, but the company has yet to respond.
According to the employee, the lawsuit filed by Nicole Evans made the institute take her claims more seriously.
Nicole Evans, from Los Angeles, claims instructor Lorin Roche showed a video of a black comedian joking that ‘Irish people are the n*****s of Europe’.
Evans is seeking at least $1 million in damages over the alleged incident, which the lawsuit describes as “one of the most humiliating and traumatizing experiences of her life.” She claims the California retreat and its employees violated her civil rights.
Evans took a medication class led by Roche on September 7, 2022, halfway through her four-night stay. He allegedly played a YouTube video of the comedy routine which the contestants initially found funny, but ‘the room went deafeningly quiet’ when the n-word was used in a joke about Irish people.
Roche, who called the case “a faculty member with decades of tenure at the institute,” and several other attendees looked directly at Evans, the only black person present, when the clip was shown.
The employee worked for the Esalen Institute on and off for 10 years, getting room and board at the luxury retreat along with their salary.
Evans’ lawsuit alleges that Lorin Roche (pictured) played the offending track during a meditation class, which Evans described as ‘one of the most humiliating and traumatizing experiences of her life’
The instructor then rewound the clip and replayed the joke, which caused some people to walk out of the class and left Evans ‘completely confused, shocked and overwhelmed with emotion’, it is claimed.
The clip is believed to be from Reginald D Hunter, an American stand-up comedian from Georgia who is based in the UK. A video of one of Hunter’s stand-up shows, uploaded to YouTube in 2011, shows him making the same joke during a routine about time spent in Ireland.
Evans’ suit, reported by the LA Times, says that after the incident she ‘felt paralyzed and didn’t know what to do. She felt like a fish in a fishbowl with everyone staring at her, which made her feel unsafe again.’
She chose to stay at the retreat, but word spread about the incident and she was questioned about it by other attendees, which made her feel uncomfortable.
Evans was supposed to attend another class with Roche the next day, but chose not to. Roche’s wife, Camille Maurine, who also works at the Esalen Institute, then encouraged Evans to attend the class to talk to him about the issue.
Roche acted as if “nothing was happening” and did not apologize, the suit alleges.
He also told another person from the refuge who confronted him about it: ‘I’m sorry you regular people don’t understand the brilliance of the video.’
Evans left the class ‘humiliated and angry’.
Roche only offered a ‘forced’ apology later that day after his wife invited Evans to a meeting with a director at the institute. Evans claims the director said ‘he’s sorry this happened to her’.
A popular escape for the rich and famous, the Esalen Institute bills itself as a ‘holistic retreat and educational institute’. Accommodations range from a ‘sleeping bag space’, which costs $900 for four nights, to private suites which cost $8,000.
Roche and his wife, Camille Maurine, who is also a member of the Esalen Institue faculty
The suit said: ‘As a result of the defendants’ actions, the plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer general and special damages, including severe and profound pain and emotional distress, anxiety, depression, headaches, tension and other physical ailments, as well as medical expenses, and expenses for psychological counseling and treatment.’
The case was filed in December and a trial was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. The Esalen Institute has been approached for comment.
It claims the institute failed to take proper disciplinary action against Roche and accuses him of a history of ‘discriminatory and bigoted behaviour’.
The Esalen Institute was founded in 1962 and has established itself as a leader in the New Age movement. The institute offers a range of classes and workshops covering activities from mindfulness and yoga to writing and dance.
The retreat’s website encourages guests to ‘explore your potential’ and says: ‘Esalen is a holistic retreat and educational institute.
Founded in 1962 and considered the epicenter of the Human Potential Movement, we are a non-profit organization that provides comfort and space for exploration, transformation and healing within the wilderness of Big Sur’s majestic mountain landscape and glittering coastline.
‘Our curiosity and research explores new ideas around creativity and the brain, bodywork, spirituality, leadership, Gestalt, plant medicine, citizen diplomacy, superhumanism, surviving bodily death, Extraterrestrial intelligence, and more.’