Victoria’s Secret, or should we say “Victoria’s Truths?”

By: Brittany Rosso

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Following the recording of the 2018 annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, interesting comments surfaced sparking instant controversy and disbelief on the internet. A few days after the show, their chief marketing officer, Ed Razek, released a harsh comment in an interview with Vogue Magazine.

The interview was published on Thursday, Nov. 8, with an apology statement that followed on Friday Nov. 9. In the interview, Razek made several statements regarding transgender and plus size models, essentially implying that those who could be categorized under these descriptions were not worthy of participating in the Fashion Show, or in Victoria’s Secret at all. His statement has been recorded as follows:

“We attempted to do a television special for plus-sizes [in 2000]. No one had any interest in it, still don’t,” he claimed. Later adding, “Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should.”

Shortly after making these remarks and realizing the far damage he has done, Razek posted an apology stating, “My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show came across as insensitive. I apologize. To be clear, we absolutely would cast a transgender model in our show. We’ve had transgender models come to castings…And like many others, they didn’t make it. It was never about gender. I admire and respect their journey to embrace who they really are.”

In it’s over 20 years of casting for the event, they have yet to cast a transgender or plus size model for their runway show or ad campaigns. They have made several efforts to diversify their runway models by welcoming women of many backgrounds, however, some groups are clearly still left marginalized.

This comment came to the shock of many Victoria’s Secret fans, shoppers, models and even their own employees. After holding a two-year position at the multi million dollar company, Victoria’s Secret’s CEO Jan Singer has officially resigned, while several others called for a boycott of the company, or responded with criticisms via social media. Regardless of the situation Victoria’s Secret is now in, the show will air on Dec. 2 on ABC Network for millions to see.

Who will continue to stand for these wings? I wonder.