One thing probably driving this more than people might think - Marriott is Mormon founded and ran, and they'll aggressively protect their female employees. I'd be very surprised if they settle with Irvin. And they have deep deep pockets. Plus - imagine had they taken no action after the lady reported.
So.... Irvin lied about the encounter. Says he doesn't remember anything about their conversation. And ballyhoos the very proof of his lies. Whatever can be debated about the video it's not debatable there was more to it than just a handshake as Irvin said. And he doesn't remember anything at all about the convo? I have a hard time believing that.
Depositions on the horizon.
Marriott had to address it for fear of getting sued by the female employee if they did nothing. Female bar tenders probably have to deal with this on a daily basis. Does the bar contact the patron's employer and get him fired?
This is frivolous and no crime was committed. If she didn't like what Irvin said, she could have been reassigned to another area of the hotel to avoid Irvin. Or a manager could have communicated with Irvin and asked him to avoid her. But they didn't do that. They took her version and went to his employer who immediately retaliated against Irvin.
I have been frivolously sued as a property owner by an employee who had a (criminal) history of fraud. The insurance company refused to represent me on a technicality and it cost me well over $100,000 in legal fees. I won in the end but almost went bankrupt and lost the business/property. I'm still paying those legal fees and it's been over 10 years later.
Other than the devastating and debilitating elbow tug, there was nothing that stood out to me and they shook hands and moved on after a few minutes. These people are money grabbers. They suck and are the leaches of society. If this was just some regular Joe instead of Irvin, it's be a non-story. If I had money, I'd defend myself against these leaches as well.
