Todd Mission mayor who ran Texas Renaissance Fest faces sexual harassment lawsuit
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The former owner and president of the Texas Renaissance Festival is accused of hiring a woman to facilitate his online dating profiles and firing her when he wasn't satisfied with the results.
According to a lawsuit filed this week, Toni Ewton claims George Coulam, who is also the mayor of Todd Mission, Texas, where the annual event takes place, harassed and retaliated against her while she was working for the festival.
Ewton said she was first hired in August 2019 as a full-time personal assistant.
She claims after Coulam ended a relationship with a woman whom he allegedly met at a strip club, he instructed her to "re-initiate" his online dating profiles.
Ewton set up profiles on various websites, including one that's described as "The King of All Sugar Daddy Dating Sites," according to the suit.
Coulam allegedly told Ewton to lie about his age and to list that he would provide women financial compensation. Ewton claims she felt uncomfortable and said Coulam would make "constant sexual comments" and "sexually-charged criticisms" of the women on the dating sites, saying they were "too fat" or "too ugly."
Coulam allegedly hired someone else in February 2020 to replace Ewton because he wasn't "happy with the number and quality of prospective women" that he was receiving.
Ewton is seeking to recover an undisclosed amount in back pay, front pay, lost benefits and other damages.
Eyewitness News reached out to Coulam and the festival organization for comment. Attorney for the Texas Renaissance Festival Jason Wagner said, "We don't offer comments on pending litigation."
Coulam has not responded to our request for comment.
