SCANDAL & SHAME Victoria’s Secret world
Models speak out against harassment, bullying, misogyny and body shaming by firm’s bosses
Lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret was once considered the pinnacle of sexy glamour and frisky femininity. Since 1995, uniformly tall and slim supermodels with bouncy waves and impossibly shiny smiles have clamoured for a coveted spot as an ‘Angel’ in the company’s annual fashion show. In the past year, however, the halo has slipped. Amid controversy about the lack of body diversity on the runway, the 2019 show was scrapped, and now more than 100 models have signed an open letter to newly appointed CEO John Mehas, urging “the company take concrete action to change its culture of misogyny”.
The letter referenced a report by The New York Times accusing former CMO Ed Razek of sexual harassment abetted by Leslie Wexner, owner of parent company, L Brands.
“The culture of misogyny, bullying and harassment at Victoria’s Secret is even more egregious and more entrenched than previously understood,” the letter said. “The Times reports repeated complaints of inappropriate conduct towards models and employees: body shaming, lewd remarks, crotch-grabbing, retaliation for rebuffing advances, unauthorised use of models’ images and pressures to pose nude without pay for a photographer’s personal shoots.”
In July, the Times also alleged that Jeffrey Epstein, who had close ties to Wexner, lured some of his young victims by posing as a recruiter for Victoria’s Secret.
One of several allegations of sexual harassment involved Bella Hadid, 23, who, while being measured for underwear during a 2018 fitting, was watched by Razek, who sat on a couch in the same room and allegedly declared “forget the panties” before remarking on Hadid’s “perfect” breasts.
The Times also alleged that during the same fitting, Razek touched another model’s crotch over her underwear. Razek denied the allegations against him, claiming they were “categorically untrue”.
Razek, who stepped down in August, faced a swift backlash in 2018 after telling Vogue the brand wouldn’t hire trans or curvy models.
“I don’t think we should,” he said. “Why not? Because the show is a fantasy.”
Even for those who fit the bill, the demands of an Angel weigh heavy.
Californian model Kylie Bisutti quit in 2012, claiming that – at 178cm and weighing 51kg – she was told she looked like a “fat cow”.
In 2017, a month after appearing in her 18th Victoria’s Secret show, Brazilian model Adriana Lima posted about her relief to be hanging up her wings. “Every day in my life I wake up thinking, how do I look?” she wrote. “That’s not physically and mentally healthy.”
Perth-born Bridget Malcolm has blogged about the unhealthy standards she placed on herself. “I am always struck by how sick I was,” she wrote (without explicitly naming the brand) on her blog in October 2018. “I was completely fooling myself into believing that I was healthy, fit and an honest representation of a woman … The fact that I was rewarded with high-profile work because I had starved myself so effectively leaves me feeling extremely uncomfortable.”
In a statement to WHO, an L Brands spokesperson shared: “We absolutely share a common goal with Model Alliance to ensure the safety and wellbeing of models … We’re proud of the progress we’ve made and remain committed to continuous improvement.”
Whether or not that’s enough to salvage the company’s reputation remains to be seen. “The time for listening is long past,” the Model Alliance wrote in its open letter. “It’s time for Victoria’s Secret to take action to protect the people they profit from. Human rights violations can’t be stopped with a corporate re-branding exercise.”
“I am always struck by how sick I was”
— Bridget Malcolm