Roehm

The fight between marketing exec Julie Roehm and her former employer Wal-Mart got a bit uglier Wednesday when she issued a statement saying she is a victim of a "smear campaign," writes the Associated Press.

Roehm challenged Wal-Mart's allegations of certain improprieties, such as having an affair with a subordinate, and said there was no valid reason for her dismissal: "Wal-Mart is insinuating things about my personal life and pretending I violated some code of ethics with advertisers, all to distract from the reality that it didn't want my form of progressive marketing."

Roehm, who was hired last year to help shake up the company's marketing image, filed suit Jan. 10 claiming she was wrongfully terminated. Last week, Wal-Mart filed a counterclaim accusing Roehm of having an affair with Womack and seeking gifts from and showing favoritism toward an agency (DraftFCB) pitching for Wal-Mart's account. Wal-Mart also accused the two of seeking to be hired by the agency.

Wal-Mart cited emails between Roehm and Womack that Wal-Mart said supported evidence of an inappropriate relationship. Roehm says the incriminating info consists of bits and pieces of emails pieced together by Wal-Mart.