Facebook fired frightened exec — but re-hired his stalker, who ranted he could turn victim ‘into a cat’: lawsuit

Facebook proprietor Meta fired a terrified trading leader aft he complained astir nan institution for re-hiring his deranged stalker, according to a lawsuit.

James Napoli said Meta didn’t return his galore complaints earnestly — moreover though nan stalker showed up astatine his home, called his relatives and sent him hundreds of disturbing messages — because he is gay.

“The lawsuit of James Napoli illustrates that Meta is either incompetent aliases deliberately indifferent erstwhile it comes to protecting its labor from harassers and stalkers,” he said successful nan Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit.

“Meta’s nonaccomplishment to return this harassment and stalking earnestly was owed to sex- and intersexual orientation-based stereotypes astir cheery men,” it charged.

The crazed man, identified only arsenic “G.F.” successful tribunal papers, called himself a “lab rat” and a prophet; told Napoli he loved him; claimed he had “the powerfulness to move [him] into a cat;” called him “a vulnerable AI robot;” and wrote, “Meta is going to effort to wounded you soon,” according to nan lawsuit.

G.F. was initially laid disconnected from Meta successful November 2022. It’s unclear what he did for nan company. The 2 didn’t activity together, but met for java aft G.F. was fto go. Then nan scary messages began, Napoli said.

But G.F. was rehired successful January 2024, and erstwhile Napoli complained astir it, Meta bosses allegedly sidelined Napoli meetings and assignments and gave him his first antagonistic capacity reappraisal since his 2019 hiring, he said successful nan lawsuit.

Napoli, 35, was fired successful February, while connected aesculapian time off for Crohn’s Disease, he said successful tribunal papers.

“None of america should spell to activity and person to beryllium stalked but past if we are, and nan institution knows astir it— past rehires our stalker? There’s thing that could beryllium much dangerous. They whitethorn arsenic good person lit his table chair connected fire,” said lawyer Carrie Goldberg, who reps Napoli on pinch lawyer Peter Romer-Friedman.

Napoli said he reported nan harassment to nan NYPD.

G.F. was abruptly fired a period aft his January re-hiring.

“Once again jobless, G.F. blamed Mr. Napoli for his 2nd termination and devoted hundreds, if not thousands, of hours to stalking and harassing Mr. Napoli, menacingly telling Mr. Napoli to beryllium ‘careful’ and claiming that he’d usage ‘magnetic tech’ to find if he was nan ‘whistleblower’ responsible for his firing,” according to nan lawsuit.

After G.F. was fired a 2nd time, Napoli sued nan institution for putting him successful harm’s way.

Napoli is seeking unspecified damages arsenic good arsenic his reinstatement.

Meta declined comment.