A former Abercrombie & Fitch model who alleged that he was forced to perform oral sex in order to land a modeling gig with the fashion brand is suing the mall-based teen retailer.
David Bradberry filed suit in Manhattan federal court on Friday against Abercrombie, accusing it of enabling former CEO Mike Jeffries to run a sex trafficking operation that is said to have exploited and abused dozens of young men.
News of the lawsuit, which is seeking unspecified damages, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Jeffries, who built Abercrombie into a global brand during his tenure as CEO from 1992 until 2014, is alleged to have promised young men a job at the firm in order to lure them to secret locations around the world and then force them to have sex with him and others, it was alleged in the lawsuit.
The legal action comes in the wake of a damning BBC documentary in which several young men, including Bradberry, came forward with allegations against Jeffries and the company.
“Abercrombie profited enormously from the oversexualized exploitation of young men,” Brad Edwards, Bradberry’s attorney who also represented alleged victims of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, told The Journal.
Edwards said that Abercrombie displayed a “willingness to enable a sexually abusive and exploitative environment to drive profits.”
Abercrombie has declined to comment on the lawsuit, which names Jeffries, his family office, and his former partner Matthew Smith as co-defendants.
“Mr. Jeffries will not comment in the press on this new lawsuit as he has likewise chosen not to regarding lawsuits in the past,” Brian Bieber, Jeffries’ lawyer, told The Journal.
“The courtroom is where we will deal with this matter.”
Over the course of its two-year probe, the BBC spoke to eight men who alleged that they were exploited or abused after being lured to events at Jeffries’ upscale New York residence or luxury hotels in the world’s fashion capitals.
The BBC described the exploitative regime as a “well-oiled machine” where “recruiters” were allegedly tasked with bringing young men to Jeffries’ events in London, Paris, Venice and Marrakesh and would receive as much as $1,000 per referral.
A personal “groomer” then allegedly shaved the body hair off some of the men before they attended the events, according to the BBC.
Men were then required to sign non-disclosure agreements that said they would be sued if they spoke out. They were not allowed to keep a copy of the legal document.
The young men alleged they were recruited to the sex events by a middleman who reported to Jeffries and his British lover, Smith, with half claiming they were misled about the nature of these events.
Other alleged victims knew the events were sexual but were unsure what was expected of them, though all were paid to attend and hopeful that by doing so, they would land a modeling opportunity with Abercrombie & Fitch, according to BBC.
This middleman — whom the BBC identified as Jim Jacobson — was described by modeling agents as the gatekeeper to “the owners” of A&F during the teen retailer’s heyday in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
“Jim made it clear to me that unless I let him perform oral sex on me, that I would not be meeting with A&F or Mike Jeffries,” Bradberry told BBC.
“I was paralyzed. It was like he was selling fame. And the price was compliance,” he said, noting that Jacobson led him to believe “this is where everybody gets their start.”
Bradberry was given $500 for his time that day, according to BBC.
On another occasion, Bradberry said he had sex with Jeffries inside his mansion after the then-CEO took drug inhalants.
Bradberry alleged he “didn’t feel safe to say ‘no’ or ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this’” because of the home’s “secluded” location and presence of Jeffries’ staff — who all dressed in a uniform of head-to-toe A&F and would hand alleged victims envelopes with thousands of dollars of cash before they left, per the BBC.
The Post has sought comment from Smith.
A spokesperson for A&F told The Post: “We are appalled and disgusted by the behavior described in the allegations against Mr. Jeffries, whose employment with Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ended in 2014, nearly ten years ago.
Speaking up and coming forward is not easy, and our thoughts are with those who bravely raised their voices.”
The spokesperson said the company has also “engaged an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the issues raised.
The company’s current executive leadership team and board of directors were not aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct by Mr. Jeffries.”
“We have zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind.”
Additional Reporting by Shannon Thaler
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