A U.S. doctor who became a viral hit on TikTok last year is facing a $45 million lawsuit following a sexual assault complaint.
Dr. Jason Campbell is a citizen of Florida who became known on TikTok in early 2020 for a series of videos showing himself and colleagues dancing at the hospital where they worked.
The videos became popular and made national headlines around April, at a time when the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic was hitting the country.
In an interview with Good Morning America shared to Twitter in April, Campbell—also called the "The TikTok Doc" said: "It's obviously tough times, if we can do anything to raise people's spirits then that was the goal and that's our purpose. So to see the overwhelming support it's very humbling indeed."
According to a lawsuit published February 26, Campbell is accused of harassing a woman who worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Oregon.
The woman asked to remain anonymous after she received "retaliation and vandalism" for speaking out against Dr. Campbell's alleged behavior, the lawsuit states. In November, her car was "vandalized with spray paint at her home."
At the time of the behavior, Campbell was a resident at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland.
The lawsuit against Campbell and OHSU states Campbell had sent "text messages, pornographic photos, and sexually-charged social media messages" to the plaintiff.
It also alleges Campbell on one occasion in March 2020 approached the woman from behind and pushed "his body and his erection" against her without her consent.
A screenshot of a text message exchange between the two afterwards shows the plaintiff referring to the incident, writing to Campbell: "Don't EVER surprise me by getting in my physical space."
Campbell allegedly replied: "I should have asked. I'm sorry."
In addition to Campbell, the lawsuit also cited OHSU as a defendant, and stated it "deliberately and negligently has shown indifference to sexual misconduct."
The suit adds: "OHSU's environment is one in which sexual misconduct is permitted. OHSU's leaders, who are mandatory reporters, do not report sexual misconduct. Rather, they negligently and actively allow and tolerate it.
"Victims are not protected—they are shamed, dismissed, and subjected to retaliation. Witnesses are not required to participate in investigations."
The suit said the plaintiff would be entitled to up to $4.5 million in a money judgement against Campbell and OHSU and punitive damages against Campbell could be as much as $40.5 million.
In March 2017 an OHSU faculty survey revealed a "serious problem with sexual misconduct," the suit states. Executive Vice Provost David Robinson said: "We have no tolerance for discrimination, and intend to take a deep dive to come up with initiatives to address these problems."
OHSU told Newsweek: "OHSU does not condone behavior as described in the lawsuit. We are continuously working to evolve our culture, policies and practices to provide an environment where all learners, employees, patients and visitors feel safe and welcome.
"While we cannot comment at this time on the specifics of this pending litigation, we take our role seriously in being part of the change that needs to happen across our country to end discrimination and power dynamics that allow for harassment."
Newsweek has contacted Jason Campbell for comment.
This article has been updated with a statement from OHSU.
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