Anna Wintour’s former live-in nanny claims she suffered “severe and permanent neurological injuries” from toxic fumes in the Vogue editor’s home after a graffiti attack by anti-fur protesters.
In a $50 million lawsuit filed in Manhattan State Supreme Court, Lori Feldt says she passed out while workers were cleaning up outside Wintour’s West Village home two years ago, and she hasn’t been the same since.
“She has numbness in her face and hands, multiple neurological problems, vision problems, headaches [and] swelling of the joints,” said her lawyer, Carl Lustig.
The 27-year-old Feldt had “been in excellent health” before mid-1997, when she went to work for the woman whose tough rep earned her the nickname “Nuclear Wintour,” Lustig said.
Feldt says she tutored and cared for Wintour’s three kids without any problems until Dec. 2, 1997, when the Sullivan Street townhouse was targeted by anti-fur protesters.
A group calling itself “The Paint Panthers” – claiming Vogue promotes the fur industry – spray-painted a trail of bloody paw prints leading to the doorstep, ending in a pool of red paint and the words “fur hag.”
When Wintour found out about the graffiti, Wintour called Vogue’s publisher, Condé Nast, and had the company send a crew to clean the mess up.
But “the paint remover was highly toxic – and [the crew] used a substantial amount of it,” Lustig said.
The fumes apparently spread into the house through the stormdrain, and Feldt- the only person who was in the house at the time- was “overcome,” the lawyer said.
The maid found her lying unconscious on the floor, and Feldt was treated at St. Vincents Hospital.
Lustig said his client was “let go because she was not capable of performing her duties” after about six more months on the job.
Feldt now lives in upstate Clifton Park, where the former honors student is making ends meet by working part-time in a “cashier-like” position, Lustig said.
The suit, which doesn’t name Wintour, seeks damages for Condé Nast’s “carelessness and negligence” and for Feldt’s past and future pain, suffering and medical expenses. A spokesman for Condé Nast refused comment.
Revenge being a dish best served cold, a short time after the spray-painting incident, Wintour sent out plates of rare roast beef to demonstrators outside of Condé Nast’s offices.