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Victoria’s Secret male executive ‘watched from couch’ as Bella Hadid was measured for underwear

  • Report details alleged behaviour of Ed Razek, former president and chief marketing officer of Victoria’s Secret parent company L Brands
  • The company has been embroiled in scandal, and last year cancelled its annual fashion show

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Bella Hadid at the 2017 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai. File photo: AFP
Tribune News Service

A damning report by The New York Times details accusations of “misogyny, bullying and harassment” within the culture of lingerie company and fashion show juggernaut Victoria’s Secret.

Several accusations of inappropriate conduct toward models, including supermodel Bella Hadid, were made against Ed Razek, who recently stepped down as president and chief marketing officer of Victoria’s Secret parent company L Brands. The allegations include bullying, lewd comments and sexual harassment.

Leslie Wexner, founder and chief executive of L Brands, was alerted to Razek’s behaviour, the report says. But some women who came forward lost their Victoria’s Secret modelling jobs as a result.

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The report comes amid turmoil for the brand: the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was cancelled in November after the company announced in May it was going to “rethink” the show.

In a statement sent to the associates at the time, Wexner said the show would be going in a different direction.

“Fashion is a business of change. We must evolve and change to grow. With that in mind, we have decided to rethink the traditional Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show,” the statement read.

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