Racism and harassment: A&F model spills beans
By: Lizzie Dearden
Claimed black models were sent home early so they would not be seen by the CEO
An Abercrombie & Fitch employee has claimed that black models were sent home early so they would not be seen during an executive’s visit, while detailing “countless” alleged incidents of racism, sexism and discrimination at a store.
Although the job was initially fun and relaxed, she claimed that visits from the then CEO, Mike Jeffries, prompted managers to send staff away until they had only the “thinnest, tallest and whitest models” visible.
“On one particularly horrifying instance, most of the black models were sent home an hour early before their shifts ended and before Jeffries was scheduled to visit,” the employee wrote.
There was only one black “greeter” in the large shop at the time, who was the first in five years, and another black model was told he did not get the job because he did not look “exotic” enough, she claimed The woman also described frequent sexual harassment by customers, which she blamed on the staff uniform of revealing tops, shorts and miniskirts. Abercrombie & Fitch became notorious for its attractive sales assistants and use of topless models at shop openings and in adverts – a policy that has frequently come under fire.
In 2004, the company settled a $40m class-action discrimination lawsuit in the US, after accusations that it filled its shop floors with almost exclusively white staff.
A spokesperson for Abercrombie and Fitch did that the latest allegations would be fully investigated.
Claimed black models were sent home early so they would not be seen by the CEO
An Abercrombie & Fitch employee has claimed that black models were sent home early so they would not be seen during an executive’s visit, while detailing “countless” alleged incidents of racism, sexism and discrimination at a store.
The woman, who wrote anonymously about her experiences for Xojane, claims to have cut down her shifts as a model to a couple a months because of the “toxic and superficial environment” at the US store where she works.
Although the job was initially fun and relaxed, she claimed that visits from the then CEO, Mike Jeffries, prompted managers to send staff away until they had only the “thinnest, tallest and whitest models” visible.
“On one particularly horrifying instance, most of the black models were sent home an hour early before their shifts ended and before Jeffries was scheduled to visit,” the employee wrote.
There was only one black “greeter” in the large shop at the time, who was the first in five years, and another black model was told he did not get the job because he did not look “exotic” enough, she claimed The woman also described frequent sexual harassment by customers, which she blamed on the staff uniform of revealing tops, shorts and miniskirts. Abercrombie & Fitch became notorious for its attractive sales assistants and use of topless models at shop openings and in adverts – a policy that has frequently come under fire.
In 2004, the company settled a $40m class-action discrimination lawsuit in the US, after accusations that it filled its shop floors with almost exclusively white staff.
A spokesperson for Abercrombie and Fitch did that the latest allegations would be fully investigated.
