In case you missed it, Victoria’s Secret‘s found itself in some pretty hot water this week after the parent company, L Brands, Chief Marketing Officer Ed Razek made some particularly controversial comments about the decision to exclude trans and ‘plus size’ models from this year’s show.
In an interview with Vogue, Razek outlined why VS is not like Rihanna‘s Savage x Fenty – which has recently gained a loyal-following for its representation of female diversity at its New York Fashion Week show.
“Everybody keeps talking about Rihanna’s show. If we had done Rihanna’s show, we would be accused of pandering without question,” said Ed. “Because the [VS] brand has a specific image, has a point of view. It has a history.”
“Does the brand think about diversity? Yes. Do we offer larger sizes? Yes. So it’s like, why don’t you do 50? Why don’t you do 60? Why don’t you do 24? It’s like, why doesn’t your show do this?”
“Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy.”
Yep, he really said that.
Never one to steer away from tone fucking deaf comments, Rihanna has just responded to Razek’s remarks and, as you might’ve guessed, she’s NOT here for anyone slamming other women.
It all started when model Louise O’Reilly called out Razek’s comments on Twitter, praising the diversity of Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty in the process:
Prime example of why brands need to be careful of casting directors opinions. Especially when it’s a 70 year old man who’s living in the past. Thank god @rihanna brought us @SavageXFenty this year with genuine attention & love of diversity in her branding 🙌 https://t.co/pdCk2ueSGq
— Louise O’Reilly (@StyleMeCurvy) November 11, 2018
“Prime example of why brands need to be careful of casting directors opinions,” wrote Louise. “Especially when it’s a 70 year old man who’s living in the past. Thank god @rihanna brought us @SavageXFenty this year with genuine attention & love of diversity in her branding.”
[jwplayer R96KTr5m]
A fan then screenshot the Tweet and shared it on Instagram, before Rihanna herself then ‘liked’ the post, showing her support for the model’s comments while shading that cringe exec:
A handful of other celebrities have also joined in on the conversation surrounding the trans and plus size comments.
Kendall Jenner, who walked in this year’s Victoria’s Secret Show, reacted to the remarks on Instagram. Let’s not forget Kendall’s dad, Caitlyn Jenner, transitioned back in 2015.
Kendall shared the below picture on her Instagram Stories, showing a ‘Celebrate Trans Women’ badge:
Tess Holliday wasn’t having any of Razek’s comments either, telling him to “kiss my fat ass” on Instagram,
“Who needs VS anyway?!” The model wrote. “They never supported plus ladies & now they are trying to dis my trans sisters? Hell nah. Kiss my fat ass.”
“I said this to @teenvogue this week: ‘As much as I want VS, who’s the biggest lingerie retailer, to embrace plus size and more diverse body types, it’s also important to give your time, focus, and money to brands who are actually doing what you want to see.”
“It’s important to be vocal about the brands you do like and what they’re doing right because that’s who should get our money because they actually care about marginalized groups. Always support progressive brands.’”
Razek has since apologised for his comments, calling them “insensitive” in an official statement shared on the Victoria’s Secret Twitter account:
Please read this important message from Ed Razek, Chief Marketing Officer, L Brands (parent company of Victoria’s Secret). pic.twitter.com/CW8BztmOaM
— Victoria’s Secret (@VictoriasSecret) November 10, 2018
“My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show came across as insensitive. I apologize,” said Razek, who now seems to be frantically back-pedalling.
“To be clear, we absolutely would cast a transgender model for the show. We’ve had transgender models come to casting… And like many others, they didn’t make it…But it was never about gender. I admire and respect their journey to embrace who they really are.”
Which has us like:
