Sleazy Ex-Abercrombie CEO Arrested For Sexually Exploiting Aspiring Models

Also sex trafficking and 'interstate prostitution.'

Oct 22, 2024

a building with a sign that says aberconiict & chik — Photo by Taylor Friehl on Unsplash

Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch — the preferred clothing brand of every douchebag in the early 2000s — has been arrested, along with two of his associates, on charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution.

The charges come a year after the publishing of a BBC investigation into allegations brought by at least 12 men who say they attended or participated in sex parties hosted by Jeffries.

Eight of the men — many of whom were aspiring Abercrombie models — say they were recruited for these parties by a middleman with “a missing nose covered with a snakeskin patch,” later identified as James Jacobson. They say they were pressured into watching and participating in various sex acts for Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith.

The men, for the most part, were aspiring Abercrombie models who were more or less told that if they wanted the job, this is what they had to do. Given the number of celebrities* who modeled for the brand before getting their big breaks — Channing Tatum, Lindsay Lohan, Lana Del Rey, Jamie Dornan, Olivia Wilde, Penn Badgley, Emma Roberts — many of them felt like it was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up.

Half of the men interviewed said that they were not previously aware that these “events” would turn out to be sex parties or that sex would be expected.

Via The BBC:

Men who attended these events told the BBC Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith would engage in sexual activity with about four men — or “direct” them to have sex with each other. Afterwards, the men said staff at the event handed them envelopes filled with thousands of dollars in cash. […]
[David Bradberry] later accepted an invitation to a daytime event at Mr Jeffries' former home in the Hamptons on New York's Long Island — recently sold for $29m. While there, he said he spoke to Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith about his aspirations to be an A&F model. Then, he said, Mr Jeffries held “poppers” under his nose — a drug which can cause a strong head-rush and disorientation — and later had sex with him.
Another man, Barrett Pall said he felt pressured into attending an event in the Hamptons in 2011. Then 22, he said he was recruited by an older model, who received a referral fee, to be his “replacement” for “some sort of sexual experience” with the couple. He said he agreed because the older model had financially supported him and he felt indebted to him.
Mr Pall said the older model told him “you don't have to do anything you don't want to do” but suggested that “the further you go, the better”, and alluded to career opportunities. When he arrived at the event, he said he felt under pressure to “perform”. At one point, Mr Pall said Mr Jeffries was behind him, groping him.

There are some definite shades of Terry Richardson and Harvey Weinstein here, no?

It’s always a good idea to take “sex trafficking” stories with a grain of salt, not just because they are frequently made up by conspiracy enthusiasts, but because much of the time it’s the sex workers themselves who get charged with it. It’s an overbroad term that conflates consensual activity between adults that should be legal anyway and with forcing people, children in particular, into prostitution against their will.

In this case, however, we are talking about people who were not sex workers, who felt exploited and often did not feel like what happened was consensual.

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This is not too surprising given everything that has come out about Abercrombie under Jeffries’ rule over the last several years. I’m certainly not surprised, given that they tried to make my then-18-year-old sister stand out in front of the store in a bikini when she worked there back in the day, and had men doing the same in boxers. I’ve heard some stories. This wasn’t just one random store, this was part of this man’s whole vision. The stores, the catalogs were all hypersexualized and the whole empire was more or less built on exploiting the sexuality of people much younger than Jeffries who were simply trying to work.

Jeffries’ lawyers have so far not issued a response to the arrest, and, according to The New York Times, will “respond in detail to the allegations” in court “when appropriate.”

Surely we all can’t wait to hear what they have to say.

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