This week Mike Jeffries, the former longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, along with associates Matthew Smith and James Jacobson, were arrested in connection with a federal sex-trafficking and interstate prostitution case.
According to prosecutors, Jeffries, Smith, and Jacobson convinced young men that attending their sex events could yield modeling opportunities with Abercrombie or otherwise benefit their careers.
“To anyone who thinks they can exploit and coerce others by using the so-called ‘casting couch’ system, this case should serve as a warning: prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison,” said Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “The message from today’s prosecution is clear: Sexually exploiting vulnerable individuals is a crime, and doing so by dangling dreams of a future in fashion or modeling or any other business is no different.”
The charges come one year after Model Alliance worker council member and former model Barrett Pall shared his experience of abuse by Jeffries and his associates with the BBC, appearing in the documentary The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool. Last year, with the support of the Model Alliance, Pall and other survivors filed a class action lawsuit against their abusers, including Abercrombie & Fitch. The lawsuit was filed under the New York State Adult Survivors Act, a law that the Model Alliance helped to champion to give survivors of sexual abuse a pathway to justice.
The highly aspirational nature of the modeling industry, coupled with the industry’s lack of regulation, creates a breeding ground for abuse. Th Model Alliance has worked to introduce and pass the Fashion Workers Act, which, once signed into law, will establish long overdue labour protections for models and create an environment of accountability in New York’s fashion industry. The Model Alliance urges Governor Hochul to sign the bill into law as soon as possible to prevent such abuse from happening in the future.
The Model Alliance runs a free and discreet support line, MA Support.
New York Times article here.
TRANSPARENCY: THIS IS A REJIGGED MODEL ALLIANCE PRESS RELEASE
