Complaints for sexual exploitation and abuse against the hypersexualized brand Abercrombie & Fitchknown for using shirtless “cute” guys to “attract other pretty people,” continues to grow. Last October, the BBC revealed that the company had covered up sexual activities that Mike Jeffriesformer CEO of A&F (and Hollister) in 2011, carried out among models and employees hired by the brand from -at least- 2009 to 2015.
The last to report was “Luke,” a 20-year-old at the time who traveled from Los Angeles to Madrid (where they planned to open a store in 2011) to “do a photo shoot.” Upon arrival at the hotel, he was taken to the presidential suite where, as he puts it, “the light was dim and the walls dark, decorated with erotic photographs of male abs“.
“Luke,” who preferred to remain anonymous, told the BBC that “Jeffries’ assistants began role-playing, encouraging him to act like a shirtless receptionist,” while the Abercrombie CEO posed as a “customer — with his boyfriend.” Matthew Smith– which must have impressed since he was going to buy her a lot of clothes.” They both started touching him, Jeffrey reaching kiss her without her consent and give her oral sex. “I tried to avoid the whole situation as much as possible, but Michael became very aggressive,” Luke laments.
Mike Jeffries, former CEO of A&F.
With “Luke” they are already eight men who said they were victims of attacks at events organized by Jeffries and Smith on behalf of the multinational clothing company. Thanks to the exclusive revealed by the BBC In 2023, the FBI was able to investigate and verify that 20 people helped the two sexual predators to prepare for these events.
Viagra injection
“Luke” was contacted via a model site and received 3,500 euros in cash the day before the “event”, which he said were intended for “general expenses” of his stay in Madrid.
Thanks to the statements of the rest of the witnesses, it was possible to discover that Jeffries had additional means. One of their strategies was to use other “selected” young people, who traveled around the world as a brand image recruiting “apparent” boys. Subsequently, these people supervised the proper functioning of the sexual events and they participated in role-playing games.
But it doesn’t stop there. Several victims tell BBC how they injected liquid viagra into his penis. “I felt like I was going to die,” another plaintiff, who goes by the pseudonym “Mark,” said after suffering an injury. extreme erection after viagra injection at an event at one of Jeffries’ homes in New York. “I was hot, dizzy and in shock. No one called an ambulance,” he said. Jeffreis and his girlfriend later attempted to have sex with him.
Jeffreis, 80, and Smith, 61, declined to answer questions. “The court is where we will handle this case,” their lawyers said.
“I didn’t feel exploited”
Another witness is Diego Guillén (42 years old), now the owner of his own law firm and real estate agent. Guillén, questioned by the FBI, assures that BBC that the business couple paid him $500 every Saturday in 2011 to call guests to sex events. In total, he counted about 80 calls in seven months.
Guillén was recruited on the street through Smith, James Jacobson, and then began attending Jeffrei’s events in New York.I had never had sex for moneyBut at the time he was unemployed and homeless. “I slept in a friend’s office,” he says, “I didn’t feel exploited.”
Based on his experience, Guillén argues that – like him – the men present at the events “had no obligations, no pressure” and that “they were well paid”.
“Michael and Matthew are high class gay men And They liked to have sex with young men and beautiful. And because they’re older, they knew the real way to do it was to be generous,” he says, “but with their full consent and making sure they wanted it and loved it. And that’s it.”
