Models are easy prey, says Christy Turlington
‘Harassment and mistreatment have always been widely known and tolerated in the industry’
CHRISTY TURLINGTON, the model, has accused the fashion industry of being “surrounded by predators” as it braced itself for a slew of sex harassment claims in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Ms Turlington broke cover to denounce the business for leaving vulnerable young models – both female and male – at the mercy of “some creepy playboy type”.
While insisting she never suffered any traumatic incidents, Ms Turlington’s decision to speak out comes as the industry faces up to lurid abuse claims.
Cameron Russell, another leading model, has begun a campaign to expose sexual predators in the fashion world.
Ms Russell, 30, launched an appeal for models’ testimonies a week ago – after allegations first emerged against Weinstein, the Hollywood producer. By yesterday she had posted 79 separate anonymised allegations on her Instagram account.
Ms Russell’s campaign, under the hash tag My job should not include abuse, threatens to bring down major names in the fashion industry. All identities have been redacted to date but Ms Russell is “speaking with lawyers” about the next step in outing sexual predators.
Last night, Ms Turlington, 48, said the row over Weinstein had prompted her to break cover.
She told Women’s Wear Daily, the fashion industry trade publication: “I can say that harassment and mistreatment have always been widely known and tolerated in the industry.
“The industry is surrounded by predators who thrive on the constant rejection and loneliness so many of us have experienced at some point in our careers.”
Ms Turlington, who along with Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista was one of the superstars who dominated modelling in the Nineties, said she was “lucky” because her mother had protected her early in her career.
But she added: “There were many times I could not believe who I was left under the care of on early trips to Milan, Paris or London. I would get off a flight and find some creepy playboy type there to meet me.”
She said that “other models wrongly felt protected” around her because of her status. “I might have been the assurance that made other young women feel safer,” she said. “If I’d known how these men thought and behaved, I might have done more to stay clear of them.”
The tales posted on Ms Russell’s Instagram account could prove every bit as potent as the snowballing allegations that have derailed Weinstein. She posted on Instagram: “Nothing in these stories should be a revelation for those working in our industry. Instead it was the beginning of a power shift.” The statements posted on her Instagram account are harrowing. In some cases, photographers, stylists and others are accused of raping mainly young women but men as well. Channing Tatum last night announced he was no longer developing a film with The Weinstein Company about a boy dealing with the aftermath of sexual abuse. The actor was developing Forgive Me Leonard Peacock with The Weinstein Company, but said he was parting ways with the studio in the wake of the sexual harassment allegations against the producer.