Victoria Secret’s CMO clarifies 'transsexual' comment from Vogue interview
Victoria Secret’s CMO Ed Razek came under fire for his comments about transgender models participating in the fashion show.
ThirdLove has no love for Victoria’s Secret right now.
Heidi Zak, CEO of bra and lingerie retailer ThirdLove, published an open letter in Sunday’s edition of The New York Times, outlining her issues with recent remarks made by Victoria’s Secret executive Ed Razek in a Vogue interview.
“I was appalled when I saw the demeaning comments about women your Chief Marketing Officer, Ed Razek, made to Vogue last week,” Zak writes. “As hard as it is to believe, he said the following: ‘We attempted to do a television special for plus-sizes [in 2000]. No one had any interest in it, still don’t.’”
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Zak also cited a passage in which Razek – actually the chief marketing officer for L Brands, which owns Victoria’s Secret – indicated that he would also decline to feature transsexuals in the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show “[b]ecause the show is a fantasy.” Following the interview, however, Razek apologized for the “insensitive” comment, saying he admires transsexual models.
Zak called Razek’s words “shocking” and “derogatory,” and posted photos of the full-page letter on the official ThirdLove Instagram account, as well as her personal account, tagging Victoria’s Secret in the former.
The Vogue article, which was published on Nov. 8, touched on Razek’s feelings toward the modeling industry’s push for inclusivity, with the author citing brands such as Michael Kors and Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty as more inclusive brands, as far as the runway is concerned.
Razek answered one question about including more diverse models by saying Victoria’s Secret’s were once deemed too “fat” for other designers, and that VS models have “continued to get more physically fit” despite no one telling them to. He also said three pregnant models have walked in VS fashion shows — something Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty was praised for including — but said VS doesn’t “milk it” for attention.
Models Cindy Bruna, left, Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Alexina Graham walk the runway during the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion in New York. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Monica Mitro, the vice president of public relations for VS who was also interviewed for the piece, stated that the show’s “runways have been culturally diverse for a long time.” She pointed to 19 “new faces” who walked in the 2018 show as evidence, though Vogue wrote that “none of them remotely approach plus-size.”
“I don’t think we can be all things to all customers,” Razek ultimately stated of the brand’s efforts toward inclusivity.
Martha Hunt walks the runway during the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
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In her letter, Zak questioned Razek’s stance and blasted the idea of creating a “fantasy” she sees as so far removed from reality.
“How in 2018 can the CMO of any public company – let alone one that claims to be for women – make such shocking, derogatory statements?” she asked.
“Haven’t we moved beyond outdated ideas of femininity and gender roles? It’s time to stop telling women what makes them sexy — let us decide. We’re done with pretending certain sizes don’t exist or aren’t important enough to serve. And please stop insisting that inclusivity is a trend,” she added.
Zak also addressed a comment Razek appeared to aim directly at ThirdLove, in which he said, “[Victoria’s Secret is] nobody’s third love. We’re their first love.”
“As you said Ed, ‘We’re nobody’s ThirdLove, we’re their first love.’ We are flattered for the mention, but let me be clear: we may not have been a woman’s first love but we will be her last.”
ThirdLove had also responded to Razek’s comments last week on Instagram, with Zak writing that she was “disappointed” in his statements and asserting that ThirdLove was “the antithesis of Victoria’s Secret.”
Fox News has also obtained an additional comment from Zak, in which she reiterates her shock upon seeing Razek's interview and calls for an end to the annual fashion show.
"I was completely appalled reading Ed Razek’s comments. What kind of leader and what kind of man would say such discriminatory things? Each time I’ve read it, it has made me more and more angry. As I read the article, I couldn't help but think of my 5-year-old daughter: How would she react to his statement five years from now? How would she react when viewing a Victoria's Secret fashion show?
"I felt like it was the right moment to respond to Ed’s comments about ThirdLove directly and to demand more from Victoria’s Secret. It’s the year 2018 and I believe women deserve to be treated and marketed to in a more authentic, realistic way. My hope is this year is the last one for the fashion show — that enough public pressure will be placed on VS to make some real and meaningful changes to their organization and to the messages they are sending to women everywhere."
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A representative for Victoria’s Secret was not immediately available to comment.
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