Former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch indicted on sex trafficking charges
October 22, 2024 12:47 PM Subscribe
Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, has been indicted on 16 federal counts of sex trafficking and international prostitution in New York, and is accused of leveraging “a network of employees, contractors and security professionals” while he led the retailer.
Mike Jeffries previously 1, previously 2, previously 3.
Mike Jeffries previously 1, previously 2, previously 3.
UGH
Universe speed to this prosecution.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 1:07 PM on October 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
Universe speed to this prosecution.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 1:07 PM on October 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
Why am I not surprised?
posted by tommasz at 1:17 PM on October 22, 2024 [7 favorites]
posted by tommasz at 1:17 PM on October 22, 2024 [7 favorites]
He better run for President quick...it's the only way to beat those pesky charges!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:18 PM on October 22, 2024 [15 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:18 PM on October 22, 2024 [15 favorites]
I was good friends with someone who worked there a long time ago and this isn’t surprising at all.
posted by glaucon at 1:19 PM on October 22, 2024
posted by glaucon at 1:19 PM on October 22, 2024
No surprise for me. Dark undercurrents in the fashion/ retail biz in NYC.
posted by Czjewel at 1:21 PM on October 22, 2024
posted by Czjewel at 1:21 PM on October 22, 2024
Where’s the mugshot. There are no known photos of this guy after like 2006
Found it. (MOD NOTE: Content warning, gory image)
posted by phunniemee at 1:22 PM on October 22, 2024 [17 favorites]
Found it. (MOD NOTE: Content warning, gory image)
posted by phunniemee at 1:22 PM on October 22, 2024 [17 favorites]
I remember going into the A&F stores in the mall and feeling weirded out by all of the kind of porny photos of teen models. Similar vibes to American Apparel. This is not surprising.
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:23 PM on October 22, 2024 [10 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:23 PM on October 22, 2024 [10 favorites]
Czjewel - more like Ohio, A&F was part of giant creep Les Wexner's Ohio based empire. Trueanon podcast has done a couple of good episodes on L brands and their scummy leadership. You'll be shocked to find out that Jeffrey Epstein is really, really involved!
posted by youthenrage at 1:24 PM on October 22, 2024 [18 favorites]
posted by youthenrage at 1:24 PM on October 22, 2024 [18 favorites]
...L brands and their scummy leadership.
Hah! I just walked past the TV, and the song "Victoria's Secret" [SLYT] was playing on the Pandora channel!
posted by wenestvedt at 1:32 PM on October 22, 2024 [4 favorites]
Hah! I just walked past the TV, and the song "Victoria's Secret" [SLYT] was playing on the Pandora channel!
posted by wenestvedt at 1:32 PM on October 22, 2024 [4 favorites]
Any one keep tracking of the number of these powerful sex pests being brought down by documentaries shining a light on them? Right off the bean there's Diddy, R Kelley and this guy.
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:36 PM on October 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:36 PM on October 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
I remember going into the A&F stores in the mall and feeling weirded out by all of the kind of porny photos of teen models. Similar vibes to American Apparel. This is not surprising.
Lest we forget them hiring teenage boys to pose shirtless outside their stores in the early '00s? (At least where I was living at the time.)
posted by mykescipark at 1:39 PM on October 22, 2024 [3 favorites]
Lest we forget them hiring teenage boys to pose shirtless outside their stores in the early '00s? (At least where I was living at the time.)
posted by mykescipark at 1:39 PM on October 22, 2024 [3 favorites]
Ugh, reading the article reveals that it is even worse than you would have assumed. Absolutely blatant that the coercion itself was the point of the events.
posted by Frowner at 2:01 PM on October 22, 2024 [4 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 2:01 PM on October 22, 2024 [4 favorites]
He better run for President quick...it's the only way to beat those pesky charges!
You'd think so, but Trump walked away a free man despite being convicted of sexual abuse.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:11 PM on October 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
You'd think so, but Trump walked away a free man despite being convicted of sexual abuse.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:11 PM on October 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
It doesn't seem like any of the victims were underaged ("as young as 19" according to the article) so at least he has Trump beat there.
It does say they specifically recruited *heterosexual* men for their sex parties, promising them a modelling career or threatening to take away their career if they didn't perform sex acts they weren't given the details of in advance. Gross.
posted by subdee at 2:27 PM on October 22, 2024 [2 favorites]
It does say they specifically recruited *heterosexual* men for their sex parties, promising them a modelling career or threatening to take away their career if they didn't perform sex acts they weren't given the details of in advance. Gross.
posted by subdee at 2:27 PM on October 22, 2024 [2 favorites]
Trump walked away a free man despite being convicted of sexual abuse.
I know it's confusing, but legally speaking, Trump was not "convicted of sexual abuse", which implies being found guilty in a criminal prosecution brought by the state.
Instead, he was found liable for sexual abuse, in a civil lawsuit brought by a private party, and required to pay damages to the victim.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 2:32 PM on October 22, 2024 [15 favorites]
I know it's confusing, but legally speaking, Trump was not "convicted of sexual abuse", which implies being found guilty in a criminal prosecution brought by the state.
Instead, he was found liable for sexual abuse, in a civil lawsuit brought by a private party, and required to pay damages to the victim.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 2:32 PM on October 22, 2024 [15 favorites]
Wake me up for the inevitable Netflix series ...There already was one - White Hot - The Rise & Fall of Abercombie & Fitch - which I seem to recall touching on all the allegations, but I know the The Abercombie Guys does.
posted by drewbage1847 at 2:33 PM on October 22, 2024 [2 favorites]
Even walking by an A&F always made me feel like Cayce Pollard from Pattern Recognition, so: this is my surprised face.
posted by mrgoat at 2:38 PM on October 22, 2024 [11 favorites]
posted by mrgoat at 2:38 PM on October 22, 2024 [11 favorites]
Instead, he was found liable for sexual abuse, in a civil lawsuit brought by a private party, and required to pay damages to the victim.
A distinction without much difference, outside of the vagaries of legal interpretation:
In any case, these Abercrombie and Fitch guys are rich and have some good, stalwart lawyers who will be able to help them play these semantic games, just as TFG did.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:53 PM on October 22, 2024 [3 favorites]
A distinction without much difference, outside of the vagaries of legal interpretation:
The judge in the case later stated that the claim that Mr Trump had raped Ms Carroll was "substantially true... albeit [with his fingers] rather than with his penis". Under New York law, rape can only be committed with genitals.I get the semantic game being played, but that doesn't mean I have to join along.
In any case, these Abercrombie and Fitch guys are rich and have some good, stalwart lawyers who will be able to help them play these semantic games, just as TFG did.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:53 PM on October 22, 2024 [3 favorites]
The statute of limitations might not be up on this one
posted by Selena777 at 3:13 PM on October 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by Selena777 at 3:13 PM on October 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
Ooh ooh ooh, take down the sex-pest Nazi who runs Brandy Melville next!
posted by foxtongue at 3:54 PM on October 22, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by foxtongue at 3:54 PM on October 22, 2024 [2 favorites]
By some crazy stroke of luck, dorky me found himself at a party in NYC in the late 90s surrounded by young beautiful models who had just been in the latest A&F catalog. There were so many weird things about that evening, but the events today with regard to Jeffries reminded me that one or more of the male models remarked that the boss of the company came to one of the shoots and was being creepy. I wonder if it was him.
posted by chillmost at 3:57 PM on October 22, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by chillmost at 3:57 PM on October 22, 2024 [2 favorites]
Mike Jeffries attempts to hide in a bush
Mike Jeffries is coaxed out by agents suggesting that a stylish, heterosexual, financially needy 18 year old male youth is nearby
Mike Jeffries, not yet wise to the ruse, cannot contain his delight
posted by anazgnos at 3:57 PM on October 22, 2024 [10 favorites]
Mike Jeffries is coaxed out by agents suggesting that a stylish, heterosexual, financially needy 18 year old male youth is nearby
Mike Jeffries, not yet wise to the ruse, cannot contain his delight
posted by anazgnos at 3:57 PM on October 22, 2024 [10 favorites]
Czjewel - more like Ohio, A&F was part of giant creep Les Wexner's Ohio based empire. Trueanon podcast has done a couple of good episodes on L brands and their scummy leadership. You'll be shocked to find out that Jeffrey Epstein is really, really involved!
This. The Wexner/Epstein nexus goes waaaaay back and found Ohio to be an unexpected, discrete and off-the-radar place to operate an incredibly powerful, twisted empire.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 4:02 PM on October 22, 2024 [2 favorites]
This. The Wexner/Epstein nexus goes waaaaay back and found Ohio to be an unexpected, discrete and off-the-radar place to operate an incredibly powerful, twisted empire.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 4:02 PM on October 22, 2024 [2 favorites]
Brandy Melville isn't a pop singer?
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 4:17 PM on October 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 4:17 PM on October 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
You'd think so, but Trump walked away a free man despite being convicted of sexual abuse.
A distinction without much difference, outside of the vagaries of legal interpretation
Except in this instance, the difference between a civil case and criminal one is that in a civil case, the defendant "walks away a free man" no matter what. The framing of your original statement made it seem like you thought that prison was a possible outcome, and Trump somehow dodged it, which it wasn't.
posted by axiom at 5:51 PM on October 22, 2024 [9 favorites]
A distinction without much difference, outside of the vagaries of legal interpretation
Except in this instance, the difference between a civil case and criminal one is that in a civil case, the defendant "walks away a free man" no matter what. The framing of your original statement made it seem like you thought that prison was a possible outcome, and Trump somehow dodged it, which it wasn't.
posted by axiom at 5:51 PM on October 22, 2024 [9 favorites]
“ I get the semantic game being played”
Do you mean understanding reality? Because there is a difference between a criminal proceeding and a civil one. Don’t be surprised when nobody goes to prison as a result of a civil case.
posted by scivola at 6:17 PM on October 22, 2024 [11 favorites]
Do you mean understanding reality? Because there is a difference between a criminal proceeding and a civil one. Don’t be surprised when nobody goes to prison as a result of a civil case.
posted by scivola at 6:17 PM on October 22, 2024 [11 favorites]
God, the actual content of the linked article is so explicitly damning. I’m a big proponent of legalized sex work, and men of his income and social clout ought to have been able to pay informed and consenting men to participate in their ridiculous sex parties. But clearly, it wasn’t about the sex acts or the appearance of these young men. It was about the abuses of power and control, the manipulation and trauma. I hope the people harmed by him can get some closure from the indictment.
posted by Mizu at 8:25 PM on October 22, 2024 [10 favorites]
posted by Mizu at 8:25 PM on October 22, 2024 [10 favorites]
> men of his income and social clout ought to have been able to pay informed and consenting men to participate in their ridiculous sex parties.
The description of how they went after specifically heterosexual men makes me think it wasn't about the sex, it was about the power. Forcing people to engage in uninformed, nonconsensual, sexuality-defying acts was probably the entire point. It's the kind of real sadism where consent and safety ruins their fun.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 9:27 PM on October 22, 2024 [8 favorites]
The description of how they went after specifically heterosexual men makes me think it wasn't about the sex, it was about the power. Forcing people to engage in uninformed, nonconsensual, sexuality-defying acts was probably the entire point. It's the kind of real sadism where consent and safety ruins their fun.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 9:27 PM on October 22, 2024 [8 favorites]
good riddance. (and man but there seems to be a pretty clear correlation between capitalism and savagery)
posted by From Bklyn at 12:09 AM on October 23, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by From Bklyn at 12:09 AM on October 23, 2024 [2 favorites]
No no, capitalism is fine. We just need virtuous unaccountable oligarchs.
posted by Reyturner at 9:19 AM on October 23, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by Reyturner at 9:19 AM on October 23, 2024 [2 favorites]
Seems to be a good place to share bits about how Les Wexner bought and ruined elite department store Henri Bendel's business in 1980s, from the book "When Women Ran Fifth Avenue":
* With brands like the Limited and Victoria’s Secret, Wexner’s company claimed to produce 200 million garments a year, or roughly three items for every woman in America... There were numerous red flags that Wexner was not Maxey and that their relationship would not follow the same pattern... It was during these years that Wexner hired Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious sex trafficker and sexual predator, as his financial adviser and close confidant, eventually giving him power of attorney.
* “He told me that he wanted me to design soaps that had phallic shapes.” Karol assumed that Wexner was joking and began to laugh. But he was serious... It was like watching a car accident in slow motion. Geraldine loyalists on one side, newcomers from Middle America on the other, and a head-on collision as the most glamorous store in America crashed into the largest mass-market purveyor of 1980s retailing.
Isn't American Apparel founder Dov Charney also a big creep too? There seems like a pattern there...
posted by of strange foe at 10:44 AM on October 23, 2024 [1 favorite]
* With brands like the Limited and Victoria’s Secret, Wexner’s company claimed to produce 200 million garments a year, or roughly three items for every woman in America... There were numerous red flags that Wexner was not Maxey and that their relationship would not follow the same pattern... It was during these years that Wexner hired Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious sex trafficker and sexual predator, as his financial adviser and close confidant, eventually giving him power of attorney.
* “He told me that he wanted me to design soaps that had phallic shapes.” Karol assumed that Wexner was joking and began to laugh. But he was serious... It was like watching a car accident in slow motion. Geraldine loyalists on one side, newcomers from Middle America on the other, and a head-on collision as the most glamorous store in America crashed into the largest mass-market purveyor of 1980s retailing.
Isn't American Apparel founder Dov Charney also a big creep too? There seems like a pattern there...
posted by of strange foe at 10:44 AM on October 23, 2024 [1 favorite]
Found it. (Content warning: gory image)
posted by phunniemee at 3:22 PM on October 22
Um hey mods? I know this is hardly the biggest problem in the world and it's on a stupid joke of all things, but it's fucked up to add text to a user's comment without any indication that it's a mod note. Don't do that.
posted by phunniemee at 6:45 PM on October 23, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 3:22 PM on October 22
Um hey mods? I know this is hardly the biggest problem in the world and it's on a stupid joke of all things, but it's fucked up to add text to a user's comment without any indication that it's a mod note. Don't do that.
posted by phunniemee at 6:45 PM on October 23, 2024 [2 favorites]
It's always the ones you suspect the most.
posted by chromecow at 11:11 PM on October 23, 2024 [3 favorites]
posted by chromecow at 11:11 PM on October 23, 2024 [3 favorites]
« Older Let's get unlost | Griping in the Guts or Gangrene? Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by anazgnos at 1:05 PM on October 22, 2024