Former Model’s Lawsuit Accuses Abercrombie & Fitch, Ex-CEO of Sex Trafficking
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A former Abercrombie & Fitch model says the company allowed its former CEO, Michael Jeffries, to conduct a “widespread sex-trafficking operation.” That’s according to a class-action lawsuit filed last week by David Bradberry on behalf of himself and more than 100 other male models.
Bradberry, who also appeared on several seasons of the Bravo reality show, “Below Deck,” says he was pressured to participate in sex acts and drugged and sexually abused by Jeffries as he attempted to become a model for Abercrombie & Fitch.
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The suit alleges that Jeffries would have modeling scouts search the internet and other sources for attractive young men interested in becoming the next face of Abercrombie. The scout would schedule an initial casting, and if he saw “potential,” would send the model to a casting at the home of Jeffries and his partner, Matthew Smith, where they would be sexually abused. The suit claims that often these prospective models would then be sent to other places, including New York, Morocco, England and France, to be sexually abused by Jeffries and other men. Smith also was named as a defendant in the suit.
In a BBC report released earlier this year, Bradberry identified the modeling scout as James Jacobson, whom he says pressured him to perform sex acts to land work with Abercrombie. Bradberry also admitted in the BBC report that Jeffries drugged and sexually assaulted him more than a decade ago.
Bradberry’s suit claims that Abercrombie & Fitch “knew about, endorsed and ratified Jeffries’s and Smith’s use of the Abercrombie brand to sexually abuse young men.” It goes on to say that models were forced to sign non-disclosure agreements before being taken into rooms where they were drugged and forced to engage in sex acts with Jeffries, Smith and other men.
“The models were led to believe that being sexually abused by the CEO of Abercrombie and his partner at a remote private location arranged by the company was the price that was paid to obtain one of the most coveted roles in the industry—an Abercrombie model,” the suit said. “This fact was reiterated to them several times by several different people who were known to have knowledge of the inner workings of the industry.”
Jeffries was hired by then-Abercrombie & Fitch owner Leslie Wexner to revamp the brand. Jeffries transformed the brand once known for hunting attire into a casual-cool outfitter for teens and young adults, famous for its sexy marketing featuring scantily clad young models on in-store signage and in its seasonal catalogs. Jeffries left the company in 2014 after 11 straight quarters of negative comparable-store sales.
That flagging business came in part as the company and Jeffries received criticism for racist and sexist practices. In 2003, Black, Latino and Asian American employees filed a class-action suit against Abercrombie, alleging that minority individuals were discouraged from applying or being hired by the retailer. The suit was featured in the 2022 Netflix documentary, “White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch,” which also highlighted controversies over shirts sold by the store bearing racially and sexually offensive slogans.
The suit points to an interview Jeffries gave to Salon in 2006, saying “We hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that.”
Bradberry’s suit alleges that not only did Abercrombie know about Jeffries’ abuse, but it continued to reward him with compensation that climbed to $71.8 million in 2008. The complaint claims that at one point, a video that circulated within the Abercrombie office depicting Jeffries sniffing what was believed to be cocaine off a man’s penis was hidden by the company to protect its CEO.
“Abercrombie financially benefited by retaining Jeffries as its cash cow CEO, who required as part of his employment, complete autonomy to utilize any methods of brand building he wanted, including the blatant use of a sex-trafficking and sexual abuse scheme,” the suit said.
The lawsuit accuses Jeffries, Smith, the Jeffries Family Office and Abercrombie & Fitch of violating the Trafficking Victim Protection Act, New York’s Services for Victims of Human Trafficking, the New York Adult Survivors Act and the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law. The plaintiffs seek certification of their suit and various monetary damages.
Abercrombie & Fitch hasn’t responded to a request for comment, but the company did release a statement earlier this year in response to the BBC report, saying, “The company’s current executive leadership team and board of directors were not aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct by Mr. Jeffries. For close to a decade, a new executive leadership team and refreshed board of directors have successfully transformed our brands and culture into the values-driven organization we are today. We have zero tolerance for abuse, harassment, or discrimination of any kind.”
