Betty White’s book-publishing golden girl says she was treated like an old bag by her bosses.
Marilyn Ducksworth, the longtime head of Penguin Group’s public relations, says she was forced out because of her age — despite her unparalleled success, which included getting the beloved 90-year-old TV actress and author face time in the Oval Office with President Obama.
In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the 56-year-old Ducksworth, who has handled p.r. campaigns for Tom Clancy, Maureen Dowd, Ken Follett, Goldie Hawn and White, says she found herself in the cross hairs of the publishing giant’s president, Susan Kennedy, beginning last June.
Kennedy “began a campaign to marginalize Ducksworth and other older, long-term members of Ducksworth’s staff,” the filing says.
That included ordering Ducksworth to can one longtime employee for a minor infraction, overruling her on hiring decisions, cutting two of her staffers’ salaries by more than 30 percent and reducing her responsibilities.
Penguin said that Ducksworth resigned and that it does not discriminate.