Connect with us

Arts & Entertainment

Victoria’s Secret exec apologizes for anti-transgender model comments

CMO Ed Razek calls the famous fashion show ‘a fantasy’

Published

on

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

L Brands, Victoria’s Secret’s parent company, Chief Marketing Officer Ed Razek issued an apology after saying he didn’t think the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show should cast transgender models.

In an interview with Vogue, Razek refers to transgender people as “transsexuals” and says transgender models shouldn’t be cast because “the show is a fantasy.”

“The brand has a specific image, has a point of view. It has a history,” Razek says. “It’s hard to build a brand. It’s hard to build Vogue, Ralph Lauren, Apple, Starbucks. You have a brand position and you have a brand point of view. The girls who have earned their way into the show have worked for it.”

“If you’re asking if we’ve considered putting a transgender model in the show or looked at putting a plus-size model in the show, we have,” Razek continued. “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. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is. It is the only one of its kind in the world, and any other fashion brand in the world would take it in a minute, including the competitors that are carping at us. And they carp at us because we’re the leader. They don’t talk about each other. I accept that.”

His comments received plenty of backlash especially from transgender and plus-size models.

Razek issues an apology via Victoria’s Secret saying that his remarks “came across as insensitive” and that Victoria’s Secret would “absolutely cast a transgender model…We’ve had transgender models come to castings…And like many others, they didn’t make it…But it was never about gender.”

The apology was too little too late for some people.

There has yet to be a transgender model to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show since the show’s conception in 1995.

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Photos

PHOTOS: WorldPride Boat Parade

Blade’s inaugural event held at The Wharf

Published

on

The WorldPride 2025 Boat Parade (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Washington Blade hosted the inaugural WorldPride Boat Parade at The Wharf DC on Friday, June 6. NBC4’s Tommy McFly served as the emcee.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Continue Reading

Photos

PHOTOS: Capital Pride Honors

Annual awards ceremony held at National Building Museum

Published

on

From left, Raven-Symoné presents Kriston Pumphrey with the Capital Pride Breaking Barriers Award at the 2025 Capital Pride Honors on Thursday, June 5. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 2025 Capital Pride Honors awards ceremony and gala reception was held at the National Building Museum on Thursday, June 5. Honorees included Cathy Renna, Jerry St. Louis, Ernest Hopkins, Lamar Braithwaite, Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Kriston Pumphrey, Gia Martinez, Kraig Williams and SMYAL. Presenters and speakers included U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Amber Ruffin, Raven-Symoné and Paul Wharton.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Continue Reading

Photos

PHOTOS: Latinx Pride Party

‘La Fiesta’ held at Bunker

Published

on

'La Fiesta' was held at Bunker on May 29. (Washington Blade photo by Robert Rapanut)

La Fiesta: The Official Latinx Pride Party was held at Bunker on Thursday, May 29. The event was hosted by Lady J Monroe and featured performances by Mia Carlisle, Stefon Royce, Evry Pleasure and Alexis Carter St. James.

(Washington Blade photos by Robert Rapanut)

Continue Reading

Popular