Scoring a spot at NYC’s upcoming Met Gala is just the start for boldfacers and A-listers fortunate sufficient to be included within the high social occasion of the spring season, held on Could 6 this 12 months.
What follows the sought-after invite is months of preparation. There are fittings to attend at high ateliers, high-priced lodge suites at The Mark to safe — and, for a lot of, journeys to Joanna Vargas’ shiny Fifth Avenue spa to attain that camera-ready glow.
Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz, Laverne Cox, Emma Roberts — all have turned to the high-profile esthetician, whose facials can value as much as $1,200.
However a Put up investigation revealed accusations of a poisonous office behind the scenes, the place workers had been allegedly belittled and criticized, labored till they fainted or had panic assaults, and had been required to take part in coaching and efficiency workout routines they are saying had been tied to Scientology.
“Joanna and Cesar Vargas — they’re the crux of the operation,” a former entrance desk assistant defined of the elite spot. “They’re a number of the worst individuals I’ve ever met.”
For a lot of ladies who dreamt of constructing careers as estheticians, touchdown a job at Joanna Vargas’s spas — there are three areas, one in Midtown, one in Brooklyn and a 3rd in Los Angeles — was the holy grail. Vargas constructed a loyal following over the past 20 years — in accordance with these near her, she’s employed greater than 300 individuals throughout that point — and positioned herself as a pacesetter in wellness and feminine empowerment.
But, in accordance with some former workers, the truth at her spa sharply clashed with that public picture.
From 2013 via 2024, 16 former staffers, all of whom requested to stay nameless for worry of retaliation, instructed The Put up that the office was outlined by worry, hostility, and relentless strain to carry out.
Their accounts are supported by inner paperwork, emails, and recordings reviewed by The Put up.
“Behind closed doorways, she was actually vicious to the purpose the place a few of these estheticians would come to me crying,” stated one former workplace supervisor.
The Put up reached out to Joanna and Cesar Vargas for remark. The couple declined to answer allegations.
‘I’m at risk’
Many former workers recall references to Scientology being not solely current, however at occasions, express. Some recalled Vargas and her husband overtly discussing their involvement, whereas others allege they got supplies, together with books and pamphlets, within the office.
“They form of compelled us to learn a variety of their Scientology books, saying that it’s good for enterprise and private enterprise and saying that that’s very informative to us, for ourselves, for our future, our profession,” stated one former esthetician.
Images and inner notes reviewed by The Put up present weekly performance-tracking formatted as “situations,” a Scientology system used to categorize workers based mostly on output.
Employees stated they had been labeled in accordance with their efficiency, similar to “prosperous” or “hazard,” and pictures reviewed linked workout routines to Scientology-related books, like The Mannequin of Admin Know How Program.
In a single instance shared with The Put up, an worker positioned in a “hazard” situation was required to finish a written train to determine what they’d performed incorrect, acknowledge accountability, and description how they’d appropriate it.
The doc included directives similar to “bypass habits and regular routines,” “begin being optimistic,” and constantly introduce services and products to shoppers and “by no means fall out of labor mode.”
In a single part, she wrote: “I’m at risk.”
Staff stated they had been additionally required to observe movies by identified Scientologist Grant Cardone — as a scheduled a part of their work day and to finish written reflections.
“We’d have to write down reviews on it… it was f—ing bizarre,” stated one other former esthetician. “He would ask how that made you are feeling… what did you’re taking away…it was psychological.”
“I didn’t know Grant Cardone was a Scientologist till later. I simply thought that he was some form of enterprise mogul that Cesar beloved,” stated a former workplace supervisor. “I assume we had been gullible, as a result of we form of ate that shit up. I felt extraordinarily brainwashed.”
Emails and recordings reviewed by The Put up present Cesar utilizing terminology related to Scientology, similar to “Theta” and “flaps on handlings.”
In a single recorded assembly, he referenced the video trainings straight, telling workers: “Because of this we have now you watch Grant Cardone.”
Stress to carry out
Throughout interviews, former workers described an surroundings during which job safety felt unstable. After twisting her ankle, one former aesthetician acquired a warning for failing to supply an actual return date, noting that three warnings might result in termination.
“I used to be consistently scared for my job. Although I used to be doing properly, it felt prefer it was by no means sufficient for them,” stated one former workplace supervisor.
Workers stated the couple set the tone. Cesar managed operations and gross sales; Joanna labored with estheticians.
“His strategy to this was extraordinarily paternalistic,” stated one former entrance desk assistant. “Not an entire lot of regard for us as competent human beings.”
One other former worker describes Cesar as a narcissist who belittles workers and flaunts his designer wardrobe and luxurious objects. A apply that will also be seen on a number of of his social media posts.
“He would actually say verbatim to us, ‘ Do you assume I look wealthy? How wealthy do you assume I’m? How a lot cash do you assume I’ve in my checking account? And he would actually make us guess, after which be like, that is what you’re working in direction of,” stated one former entrance desk assistant.
“He’s tremendous controlling and simply has a view that everybody who works for him is lesser,” stated a former entrance desk workers member. “Folks labored there for years with out raises.”
Whereas Cesar was allegedly the controlling one, workers stated Joanna was subtler however equally unsettling, typically criticizing workers not directly. One former esthetician recollects Joanna, via a coworker, saying she might by no means put on a sure outfit once more as a result of she ‘regarded drained.’
“She does that so you are feeling unworthy of even being addressed by Joanna,” she stated.
Throughout a coaching on a brand new facial, a former esthetician recollects Joanna, who is understood to make use of profanity, cursing at workers over a Q-tip left in a cream jar, calling it “f–ing disgusting” and demanding to know who was accountable.
“She’s observing you. Your fingers are shaking. You’ll be able to’t do your job. She’s simply damaged you down. As you’re employed, she simply says, ‘No. Flawed.’”
Fainting on the subway
Staff stated efficiency was pushed by package deal and product gross sales. Entrance desk workers stated they had been anticipated to satisfy day by day income targets—typically as excessive as $30,000—via chilly calls, e-mail campaigns, and upselling packages. When the quota was not met, a former entrance desk assistant alleges Cesar would sit on the desk and monitor them.
In an e-mail reviewed by the Put up, Cesar wrote, “If we aren’t demanding or making them work, little or no gross sales is made.”
Past seeing shoppers, workers had been required to write down 25 handwritten letters weekly to encourage bookings. In an e-mail reviewed by The Put up, Cesar criticized an esthetician recovering from overuse hand ache for not writing letters, calling her “not MASTER worthy” and demanding extra output with “acknowledgement.”
When one entrance desk assistant was simply shy of her day by day quota, she fainted from stress, in accordance with a former aesthetician who was together with her.
“She’s solely 22 years outdated, she’s passing out on the practice due to work,” stated a former esthetician who was together with her in the course of the incident. “She made $18,000 for them that day, and that also wasn’t sufficient for them.”
In a resignation e-mail reviewed by The Put up, one former entrance desk assistant described the office as “poisonous and demoralizing,” citing “fixed micromanagement and belittlement” and “a relentless pursuit of revenue on the expense of worker well-being.”
The letter additionally alleged that Cesar made inappropriate feedback about workers’ funds, calling his conduct “profoundly unprofessional” and “missing empathy or respect.”
‘Can not work like a machine’
12-hour shifts had been routine, with little time for breaks or restoration, leaving workers bodily drained. One former esthetician recollects working 9 days in a row.
Taking day without work was tough with out penalties. Firm coverage allegedly required workers to make up missed days, making it unimaginable to get well from sickness or harm and resulting in burnout. Inside emails reviewed by the Put up present one therapeutic massage therapist saying calls for worsened current accidents.
“Working additional days to cowl myself defeats the aim… since it will likely be including extra stress to my infected fingers,” she wrote. In one other e-mail she requested about having a 30-minute break. “I merely can’t work like a machine. I can’t stress sufficient how essential that is for my well being and the longevity of my profession.”
That inflexibility, workers stated, prolonged even to private crises. One esthetician, studying her father had a coronary heart assault throughout her commute, stated she was nonetheless anticipated to complete therapies earlier than leaving.
“I needed to work even when my dad was dying…,” she stated, including comparable expectations utilized throughout severe well being points, together with partial paralysis from herniated discs.
Even quitting was tough. When one former esthetician tried to resign, she was disregarded.
“They had been simply saying, ‘No, you’re not going anyplace. You’re high quality. You’re not gonna discover higher than this.’”
The ‘ugly’ actuality
Former workers stated the strain contained in the spa additionally stemmed from how they had been spoken to.
Weekly company-wide conferences had been tense as efficiency was mentioned in entrance of friends. One esthetician stated the conferences diminished her, no matter her efficiency.
Others described moments the place Cesar allegedly made inappropriate remarks about price being tied to appearances, which was significantly unsettling.
“He stated, ‘ugly individuals cannot make more cash than lovely individuals. The identical factor goes for fats individuals; they make much less cash than skinny individuals,” a former worker with data of inner operations alleges.
“It is a room full of ladies. And also you’re degrading us,” she remembers considering on the time.
Feedback about appearances weren’t remoted to only conferences. One former workplace supervisor, scuffling with an autoimmune flare-up, describes “numerous” occasions the place Cesar requested if she had free time to go to the health club.
“He would all the time reference it,” she stated, recalling the repeated feedback directed at her weight. “I actually didn’t admire that.”
Additionally they allege that Joanna’s conduct added to the tradition via favoritism, gossip, and public embarrassment, making a catty, “excessive school-like” surroundings.
“Joanna was like a full-grown grownup imply lady, occasions a thousand,” stated one former esthetician, who alleges Joanna saying issues like “I hate her voice,” and “oh my god she’s so annoying,” about her workers.
“In public, she talks about lady energy, however all of us smirk, realizing she isn’t about lady energy,” stated one other former esthetician.
In some instances, that dynamic performed out via direct humiliation, in accordance with a number of accounts. One former esthetician recalled Joanna allegedly lashing out throughout a coaching session after she requested a query.
“She stated, Are you silly? You simply must shut up and hear typically,” she stated. “I began crying… it was essentially the most embarrassing factor that ever occurred to me.”
Violations alleged
The spa’s surroundings additionally raised issues about compliance with labor legal guidelines.
One former inner operations worker stated she instantly recognized worrying points, similar to failing to trace or pay worker sick days. She alleges that Cesar dismissed her issues.
“They had been like, ‘We don’t. You don’t should pay them for it. They’re not working,” she stated.
She additionally stated she raised issues about an alleged coverage requiring workers to make up missed time, not giving workers breaks.
In keeping with a consultant from the New York Division of Labor, practices similar to failing to supply required breaks, requiring workers to make up sick time, or improperly dealing with pay might represent violations of state labor legislation.
“We’d encourage this particular person to file a proper Labor Requirements grievance in order that our staff might assessment this matter,” the consultant wrote in an e-mail.
In truth, The Put up’s investigation discovered no authorized complaints or investigations in opposition to the spa or its house owners that mirror this, neither is there any proof that they’ve ever been cited or discovered answerable for any violation of legislation. Nonetheless, a number of former workers stated they didn’t report incidents as a result of they had been unfamiliar with labor protections or as a result of they’d no different choices.
Reduction and restoration
One former model supervisor who visited the New York salon solely as soon as per 30 days recollects a lukewarm expertise working at Joanna Vargas and admitted she didn’t see something significantly poisonous throughout these visits; nonetheless, she was often sitting upstairs within the workplace.
General, she instructed The Put up that she was impressed with the enterprise they constructed and talked about that many different magnificence manufacturers she’s labored with function equally by way of pushing package deal gross sales.
Regardless of her recount, the overwhelming unfavourable reviews of the surroundings contained in the Fifth Avenue spa left an enduring impression on workers.
Workers reported struggling anxiousness, self-doubt, and signs related to post-traumatic stress.
Whereas some workers members attested in emails despatched to The Put up to having optimistic working experiences, the 16 workers interviewed by The Put up shared unfavourable experiences that mirrored comparable patterns.
“I’ve office anxiousness now due to this job, simply the fixed feeling like somebody is out to get me,” stated one former workplace supervisor who described feeling “damaged” and unable to work for months. “I used to be having nightmares. I used to be crying within the bathe.”
Others reported bodily signs like stress rashes, hair loss, exhaustion, and burnout. One esthetician stated it led to panic dysfunction.
“Once I left there, I had a full-blown psychological breakdown,” she stated. “I needed to be on treatment, and I couldn’t work for 4 months as a result of I used to be a fucking mess.”
One former workplace supervisor stated quitting made her really feel “exuberant.”
“I beloved writing that e-mail saying I used to be quitting,” she stated. “I got here to work in a luxurious area, and that is the precise reverse. That is disgraceful.”
Nonetheless, some discovered comfort of their resilience.
“The perfect factor I did was work for her, and the very best factor I ever did was to depart her,” stated a former esthetician.
“Working together with her has taught me to be so robust that nobody on this world might destroy me.”
