The woman who managed Doc Johnson's talent relationships for nearly eight years is suing the company—and the allegations in her complaint could make every performer with a Doc Johnson product deal very uncomfortable.

Filed on Jan. 26 by former Marketing Manager Thao Dipolito, the complaint contains nine allegations, ranging from sexual harassment and racial discrimination to retaliation and wrongful termination.

But buried in those claims are allegations that go far beyond a typical employment dispute—allegations that, if true, suggest Doc Johnson was systematically shortchanging the performers whose names and bodies are the foundation of some of its most marketable product lines.

Named in the lawsuit are Chad Braverman, Doc Johnson’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Creative Officer; his father, Ronald, the company's owner and president; and a related entity called Health Devices Corporation.

Chad Braverman did not respond to a message from PornCrush seeking comment. The full complaint is available here.

The Commission Shell Game

According to the complaint, on July 2, 2024, Chad Braverman asked Dipolito to make illegal alterations to talent contracts, including changing commission percentages and excluding certain talent from commission breakdowns.

The original terms, as described in the filing, gave talent a 30 percent commission on the sale of the first 500 units of a sex toy or other product featuring their name and likeness that were sold. Chad Braverman allegedly wanted it changed to 5 percent — and only on units sold after the first 500.

That might sound like a minor tweak. It wasn't.

Doc Johnson, the complaint states, only placed one 500-unit order every three months, so the new terms would effectively eliminate an overwhelming chunk of potential commissions.

Dipolito, the complaint states, refused to alter the contracts. She flagged the request to her supervisor, Vice President of Sales & Marketing Scott Watkins, a longtime prominent figure in the adult industry. According to the complaint, Watkins allegedly "swept her complaint under the rug".

Blowing Past the Exclusivity Window

The complaint also alleges that Chad Braverman sought to circumvent the six-month, direct-to-consumer exclusivity period built into talent contracts. Industry-wise, the six-month window is vital because it’s the period when talent and Doc Johnson can maximize sales on Doc Johnson’s website, where margins are higher, attribution is cleaner, and a performer’s name and marketing push after a product's debut can translate into considerable revenue before the product gets diluted across third-party retailers, such as adult novelty stores.

According to the filing, Chad Braverman wanted to bypass the contract’s six-month website exclusivity window by releasing products directly to retail stores so the stores could sell them at their booths at trade shows. And a statement attributed to Watkins at a pre-convention staff meeting suggests this wasn't just a proposal—it was already happening. The complaint alleges Watkins acknowledged during the meeting that Doc Johnson was breaking the terms of its agreement with talent.

“Contractually with the artists we were supposed to launch these products direct to consumers for 6 months and then put it into market. But with the way the shows are and the fact that we are not going to technically have another show until 9 months from now, we are just getting them out. We are just getting the product out there.”

The complaint also references, on information and belief, a separate ongoing legal dispute regarding Doc Johnson "cheating talent by failing to pay them commissions owed." No further details on that matter are included in the filing.

Sexual Coercion and Ignored Complaints

The contract allegations alone would be significant. But the complaint goes further by accusing Doc Johnson of a pattern of sexual coercion involving one of its representatives and talent—one that management allegedly knew about and chose to ignore.

According to the filing, a Doc Johnson consultant used his position to pressure performers into sexual relationships. The consultant was not named in the suit. The complaint alleges that the consultant told Dipolito and Watkins in May 2022 that he'd been sleeping with multiple models who were signed to talent agreements with the company. Furthermore, if a performer under contract turned down his advances, the complaint states, the consultant would retaliate by requesting that her products be removed from the Doc Johnson website. He also allegedly told talent he was a part-owner of Doc Johnson, which was not true.

Between 2022 and 2024, roughly eight performers contacted Dipolito directly, telling her they'd been coerced into providing sexual favors in exchange for securing product deals. As the company's main talent liaison, Dipolito was responsible for escalating these complaints, which she says she did on multiple occasions.

Per the complaint, management's response was to shut her down. Dipolito alleges she was told, "You sound like a hater," and "You don't know when to back down." Chad Braverman's alleged response to one complaint about the consultant was, "I know you just hate him."

When Dipolito started bringing performers directly to Watkins so he could hear the complaints firsthand, the complaint alleges that Watkins shouted at her: "You don't know when to back off, Thao! You don't get it. Chad is involved with sleeping with the talent, too. Nothing will be done."

For context, that's an allegation that Doc Johnson's VP of Sales & Marketing told a subordinate that Chad Braverman—the owner’s son, and the company’s COO and CCO —was also sleeping with the talent, and because of that, nothing would ever change.

In February 2024, the complaint states, a performer reported that the consultant had propositioned her and another performer for sex. When they refused, he allegedly attempted to freeze them out of the adult industry by using his influence to blackball them from obtaining studio bookings with certain high-profile male performers. According to the filing, Watkins again took no action.

Dipolito also discovered around this time that the consultant had altered talent contracts and reported it up the chain. The complaint draws a parallel between those contract alterations and the alleged sexual coercion.

The Company's Internal Reporting Was a Dead End

The complaint also describes an internal structure that made meaningful accountability functionally impossible.

Dipolito alleges she wanted to file a formal HR complaint about the allegations listed above. The problem: Chad Braverman—the person she needed to report to—was also the company's designated HR manager. There was no one else to go to.

The complaint also alleges that, after Dipolito's termination, she sought a copy of an office-wide email from Office Manager Pauline Campana outlining the company's HR complaint protocol. Every employee she contacted told her the same thing: the email had disappeared.

And on the question of whether Doc Johnson had reason to know about any of this: the complaint states, on information and belief, that a previous third-party investigation had "corroborated and substantiated" many of the sexual harassment allegations against the Bravermans. According to the filing, the company took no meaningful corrective action.

Harassment and Racial Slurs at the Executive Level

Beyond the talent-focused allegations, the complaint details years of sexual harassment directed at Dipolito by Chad Braverman, including repeated comments about her body, unwanted sexual remarks, and an incident in which he allegedly sang a sexually-explicit song about her at work. At an executive meeting, Braverman and another executive allegedly said they wished Dipolito would "come to work nude."

Dipolito, who is of Asian descent, also alleges that company founder Ronald Braverman responded to her suggestion about renaming a product line by using racist slurs—language she says he repeated again later in front of a brand partner.

Fired Ten Days Later

On July 12, 2024, ten days after refusing to alter the talent contracts, Dipolito was terminated. The stated reason, according to the complaint: "financial struggles at the company."

On information and belief, the complaint states, she was the only person laid off.

The complaint was filed after the California Department of Civil Rights issued a Right to Sue notice on January 8, 2026. King & Siegel LLP is representing Dipolito. The suit seeks general and special damages, punitive damages, attorneys' fees, and injunctive relief, and includes a demand for a jury trial.

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