The Dirty World of Victoria's Secret Revealed: Models Sexually Harassed and Auditioned for Jeffrey Epstein

For decades lingerie brand Victoria's Secret has been hiding very dark secrets that are now being revealed in a documentary series: bullying, sexual harassment and a disturbing link to one of the world's most notorious sex offenders.

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17/07/2022

Sunday, 17 July 2022, 12:52

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Who and what - Victoria's Secret (AP, Reuters, Shutterstock, Getty images)

Their sexy "angels" have turned Victoria's Secret into a $ 7 billion brand - but now it's revealed that behind closed doors, the lingerie company has hidden some very dark secrets.

By introducing supermodels like Rosie Huntington-Wheatley, Gisele Bundchen, Miranda Kerr, Heidi Klum and Helena Christensen in glittery thongs, tiny bras, stilettos and angel wings, American society has changed the face of the world of lingerie for women.

But even though they may have preached female empowerment, behind the glow lie accusations of bullying and sexual harassment and a very disturbing link to one of the world's most notorious sex offenders.

Now a new documentary reveals the connection between the founder of Victoria's Secret, the Jewish-American businessman Les Wexner (who also founded the Wexner Foundation) and the convicted billionaire and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Victoria's Secrets: Angels and Demons

The series claims that the two men were close friends for 20 years, lived in the same estate and that Wexner gave Epstein a power of attorney over a large portion of his business.

Even more shocking are the allegations that Epstein, who hanged himself three years ago while awaiting trial for further sexual offenses, used his relationship with the lingerie company to get young models to satisfy his sexual appetite.

The British Sun reported that former company executives claim that Wexner was aware of his friend's sexual exploitation, but the billionaire boss denies that he had any knowledge of any criminal activity

. Former models tell of the "bad things" that would happen behind the glow of the runway and make eye-closing claims against crew members who would sexually harass them - just because everyone made so much money.

In addition, models say that they did not eat for a long time because they were encouraged to be impossibly thin and their photos were edited and retouched when they were not thin enough for the taste of the heads of the company.

Wexner sold "Lolita Express" to Epstein

However, there is no doubt that the close ties between Wexner and Epstein have the greatest potential for damage to the giant company.

Cindy Pados-Fields, former CEO of Victoria's Secret Direct - the brand's online arm - claims: "In 1993 I was told that a man in New York introduced himself as a recruiter of models for Victoria's Secret shows.

I asked his name and the model said it was Jeffrey Epstein and I thought to myself: Okay, this is a problem.

I asked them to call Les (Wexner) directly and he said he would put an end to it. "

But it does not end there, because other women tell how Epstein saw the international lingerie brand as a way to attract women into his twisted world

. And former U.S. President Bill Clinton, began working for Wexner in 1986.

He became Eyal's most trusted financier, with Wexner describing him as "very smart with a combination of excellent judgment and extremely high standards."

They were so close that Wexner sold Epstein his private jet "below market price" and his Manhattan townhouse.

Epstein owned the plane, dubbed the "Lolita Express" because he used it to sexually assault young girls, sexually assaulted girls, some as young as 14, and used the plane against him to fly minors between his estates in New York and Palm Beach, Florida. .

For example, Alicia Arden, a lingerie model and actress who appeared in The Bay Watch, was tempted to come to a hotel in Santa Monica to meet Epstein in 1997 because he told her he worked for Victoria's Secret.

But during the business meeting, he told her to undress, gave her $ 100 and stroked her ass.

She filed a complaint with the police but no criminal action was taken.

More on the same topic

"Forget the Panties": The investigation that reveals sexual harassment in Victoria's Secret

To the full article

"Epstein uses Victoria's Secret as a business card"

Frederick van der Wall, a veteran model of Victoria's Secret, also said she was surprised to hear about models who were told to audition for Epstein.

She told the creators of the series, which also airs on the streaming channel Paramount +: "I remember I was on set and one girl said 'I was asked to go see Jeffrey Epstein for Victoria's Secret.' Van der Wall wondered, 'Why?

There were never any Victoria's Secret officials who asked the girls to go see Epstein, but he used it as a business card. "

She explained that it was not surprising that so many young women with hope and desire to succeed accepted the invitation. A contract with Victoria's Secret could be worth it. Millions of dollars and immediate recognition is guaranteed.

The partner in the actions was the head of the French modeling agency Karin Models, Jean-Luc Brunel, who received a million dollars from Epstein in 2004 to set up a New York company called MC2 Model Management.

Conchita Sarnoff, an anti-trafficking activist, said: "Brunel got the girls' visas and they were put in one of Epstein's apartments. This allowed Epstein to bring minors legally to the US under the guise of modeling.

" And the companion of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was

convicted

in December of conspiracy to commit sexual abuse and trafficking in minors for sexual purposes, was often the first person the models spoke to.

While awaiting trial,

Wexner's lawyers insist Brunel never had anything to do with Victoria's Secret.

The road to the glorious world passes through very dark places (Photo: GettyImages)

Wexner, now 84, rarely gives interviews, but he turned the small store he set up in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, in 1963 into an empire.

In 1982, he bought the Victoria's Secret lingerie chain for $ 1 million, when the company reportedly went bankrupt.

He created a fake story based on a "refined" English woman named Victoria who set up shop and in front of the catalogs he was selling and displaying the women were covered in robes.

But that "classic" image was erased when the Victoria's Secret fashion show arrived in 1995. Former principal Cindy said: "I realized the original Victoria was killed by the angels. We moved to a more aggressive sexual point of view."

The clothes became smaller and smaller, which was difficult for the women who walked in front of rows of merry men.

Frederick recounted: "For me personally it was quite exposed. I was happy to leave, go home, cry in the bath and say thank you to God I was done with it."

After the #metoo campaign appeared in 2016, exposing a string of sexual harassment in the entertainment industry, models began complaining about Ed Razak, who organized the TV broadcasts.

A New York Times investigation in 2020 revealed an internal culture of bullying and sexism under Razek.

Former public relations man Casey Crow Taylor tells the filmmakers: "Ed's assistant said that if he had a dollar for every time a case of sexual harassment got in his email, he was rich. But Ed laughed about it. It was a very normal thing to joke about. something like this".

In an official statement, Razek denied the allegations.

Other members of the Victoria's Secret team also said they were part of a toxic work environment.

James Scully, senior director and head of casting, says: "It was leaked that models were attacked by photographers, who touched and covered them during the measurements and that other people at Victoria's Secret would make inappropriate comments or mess with the models too much."

Years later, modeling agents told Scully that they had heard the rumors but continued to send their clients to auditions - knowing they were at risk.

Stylist Victoria Bartlett added: "The culture we were in then was very different, you had to turn a blind eye to it."

The moment when it all ends: the sexual desire of childhood

The sexuality and shocking desire of girls through the company’s “Pink” brand are currently depicted in which Wexner has gone too far.

Model Lindsay Scott, who wore balloons instead of clothes during one of the photos for the "Pink" brand, said: "A lot of bad things happened there."

Among other things, there were revealingly dressed minor models as "naughty cops" who used to sell clothes to young teens, while on the panties were phrases like "Call me."

Now this era is over.

Victoria's Secret's fashion show came to an end in 2019, Razek left the company Wexner moved to the back seat in terms of managing the company, which last year became an independent company and continues to shrink even though it sold more than $ 1 billion worth of merchandise in the first quarter alone .

Last summer, the company's management announced a rebranding, with a wide range of speakers and advertisers such as activist footballer Megan Rafino "claiming that they are now talking about female empowerment from a more recent perspective."

CNN concluded that these days, as the company tries to reinvent itself to stop the fall, the question remains: can the brand change itself at all and does it have a place in 2022?

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• Jeffrey Epstein

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