Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt accused of rape, surveillance by ex-mistress
The ex-mistress of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has accused him of sexual assault and spying on her with hidden cameras in a bombshell lawsuit.
The ex-mistress of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has accused him of rape and spying on her with hidden cameras while she was naked, even as he allegedly subjected her to surveillance and humiliating comments at the tech start-up they operated together.
Michelle Ritter, a 31-year-old tech entrepreneur, detailed the allegations in a filing last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging that the 70-year-old subjected her to sexual battery, harassment, domestic violence, and violations of computer hacking and wire-tapping laws, The New York Post reported.
Last month, The Post revealed the legal battle, which stems from a relationship that began in 2020 and soured with allegations of abuse and corporate betrayal.
In last week’s bombshell filing, Ms Ritter alleged that the billionaire raped her on a yacht in November 2021.
“He followed me into a shower, slammed me against the wall, and forcibly raped me,” Ms Ritter alleged.
“I begged him to stop and cried out that he was hurting me, but he ignored my pleas. The next morning, Schmidt attempted to convince me that I enjoyed the assault.”
Then, in August 2023, at the Burning Man festival in Nevada, Ms Ritter alleged that Mr Schmidt initiated sex while she slept.
“I clearly told him ‘no’ and tried to get him to stop, but I had learned that attempting to resist physically would be futile and make things worse,” Ms Ritter wrote in the filing.
She further accused Mr Schmidt of unwanted voyeurism and pressuring her with sexual fetishes.
“On multiple occasions, Schmidt surreptitiously photographed me without my consent while I was nude, including entering the bathroom to take photographs while I was showering,” she stated.
Physical abuse claims include shoving her multiple times, leaving bruises and scratches, and intimidating her by screaming inches from her face. In one New York incident, he allegedly pushed her into a desk.
Ms Ritter described Mr Schmidt as “erratic”, alleging that he undressed and exposed himself to his private jet’s flight crew and transported marijuana on the plane.
She also accused him of pressuring her to appear “really hot and sexy” at business meetings, urged her to use prescription stimulants for weight loss – only to later mock her for looking “emaciated”.
In front of colleagues, he allegedly made demeaning comments, including, “You should see her naked”, soliciting remarks on how “sexy” she looked, and saying after she misspoke: “At least she’s good looking.”
Ms Ritter claimed Mr Schmidt installed spyware on her computer in November 2021, giving himself access to her texts, emails and documents.
“On various occasions, Ritter would be using her email account or Google Workspace and saw emails and documents being deleted or altered as if someone else were controlling her keystrokes,” the filing stated.
Ms Ritter alleged Mr Schmidt confessed to creating a “backdoor” to Google servers for accessing anyone’s private information, extending beyond her to targeted employees.
Their relationship ended after photos surfaced in early 2024 of Mr Schmidt with a 22-year-old woman, according to court documents. Post-break-up, Ms Ritter alleged the surveillance escalated.
On November 7, 2024, while Ms Ritter dined at Nobu in Malibu, she alleged Mr Schmidt broke into her Tesla and stole her laptop – and claimed he was caught by the restaurant’s CCTV footage.
In a statement, Mr Schmidt’s lawyer Patricia Glaser, who has also represented Harvey Weinstein, said: “This is the latest desperate and destructive effort to publish false and defamatory statements – which are directly contradicted by her own words – to distract attention and escape accountability from a longstanding business dispute.”
Skip Miller, a lawyer representing Ms Ritter, told The Post: “A billionaire tech titan, the powerful former head of Google, took advantage of and abused a brilliant young woman, for his personal satisfaction, to deprive her of all the hard and highly valuable work she did while they were together, because she dumped him. This lawsuit is to get her justice.”
Mr Schmidt, then 65 and retired from Google with a net worth of $US48.3 billion ($74 billion), was married but reportedly in an open relationship with his wife of 45 years, Wendy Schmidt.
Ms Ritter, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and a law degree and MBA from Columbia University, met Mr Schmidt, a major Democrat donor, in September 2020 through a business contact.
At the time, she was 26 and pitching StarX Networks, a company that allowed fans to invest in athletes’ performance.
Together, they launched Steel Perlot, a start-up incubator that helped launch companies such as Keeta, a payment network now valued at $US161 million ($246.9 million).
Ms Ritter even claims she helped edit Mr Schmidt’s book with Henry Kissinger, advised on a Biden administration appointment, drafted Senate testimony, and influenced his bid for the Washington Commanders NFL team.
In business dealings, she claims Mr Schmidt invested $US100m ($153m) in Steel Perlot but used accounting manoeuvres to burden it with debt. She was ousted as CEO of Knox, another firm, and stripped of control over shared companies.
Further allegations include Mr Schmidt forging her signature on documents, inserting fake texts into her phone, and locking her out of their shared residence in April 2024, leaving her belongings inside.
That summer, Ms Ritter claimed Mr Schmidt installed hidden cameras and listening devices in her Los Angeles home.
Private investigators allegedly tailed her parents, admitting to police they worked for a “billionaire’s private security detail”, as The Post previously reported.
Ms Ritter filed for a temporary restraining order last December but retracted some claims a week later, which she now says was under pressure from Mr Schmidt’s lawyers.
The case began in September with sealed or redacted filings.
Last week’s proposed amended complaint, which was first reported by The Daily Mail, seeks to make allegations public, citing a 2021 law against arbitrating sex abuse claims.
Mr Schmidt has argued the law doesn’t apply retroactively.
In his response, Mr Schmidt claimed the dispute arose from Ms Ritter’s “mismanagement” of their company and accused her of “compulsive lying” to gain leverage and “extort” him.
He alleged she broke their agreement by refusing to vacate a Beverly Hills mansion, stealing $US1.1m ($1.68m) in property and leaking information to the media.
Judge Michael Small ordered private arbitration in September and stayed the public case. Ms Ritter has cycled through as many as 10 lawyers, Mr Schmidt’s filings claimed.
Mr Schmidt has been described as Silicon Valley’s “Casanova” after years of flaunting much younger girlfriends and has spoken openly about how AI could ruin dating for men.
Mr Schmidt, Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011, has been linked to other younger women, including fashion designer Shoshanna Gruss, former Olympic skater Alexandra Duisberg. socialite Ulla Parker, and former CNBC correspondent Kate Bohner.
This article was originally published by The New York Post and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt accused of rape, surveillance by ex-mistress
