Ed Razek, Victoria’s Secret CMO, recently caused outrage when he said that the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show would not include transgender or plus-size models as the show is supposed to be a “fantasy” and that the company “did not want to market to the whole world.”
“Does the brand think about diversity? Yes. Do we offer larger sizes? Yes… Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should,” said Razek, 70.
“The show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is. It is the only one of its kind in the world,” he added.
After receiving heat for the controversial comments, Victoria’s Secret released a statement from Razek, saying, “My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria’s Secret Show came across as insensitive.
“I apologise. To be clear, we absolutely would cast a transgender model for the show. We’ve had transgender models come to castings… And like many others, they didn’t make it.
“It was never about gender. I respect and admire their journey to embrace who they really are.”
Responding to the controversial comments, RuPaul‘s Drag Race star Peppermint wrote on Instagram, “I believe companies have the right to make any casting choices they want, I also believe we have a right to express how we feel about these choices.
“Victoria’s Secret is a household name, I believe they have more to gain and less to lose by being more INCLUSIVE with their casting. If our country has become more diverse, surely their customer base has also changed. It would be nice to see them acknowledge that.”
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show took place on Thursday, November 8 in New York and featured models such as Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Adriana Lima, Behati Prinsloo and Candice Swanepoel.
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