Ex-Victoria’s Secret model ‘shocked’ Epstein was free for so long
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(NewsNation) — For more than a decade, Victoria’s Secret was one of the most famous brands in the world. However, it turns out there was more to the name than people knew.
According to Hulu’s new documentary “Victoria’s Secret Angels and Demons”, in the 1980s, the company’s former CEO Les Wexner turned over control of his entire multibillion dollar fortune to Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein reportedly used that wealth and clout to build his own fortune and to lure young women who dreamed of being Victoria’s Secret models one day.
NewsNation’s Banfield spoke with a panel of experts who have close ties to the modeling industry for comment.
“I’m just shocked that it was kept behind closed doors because it was so open within the industry. You had to kind of like become his (Epstein’s) friend to be in the show,” Robyn Lawley, who has appeared on the cover of the biggest fashion magazines around the globe, said. “I’m just kind of happy that it’s finally out and that we don’t have to force these young girls to go cast with these creepy men. I don’t know why it happened for so long.”
Lawley said she’s been shunned before for speaking out about how toxic the modeling industry can be, but she says she won’t let it stop her from doing what it right.
“I have a daughter, and I’m not letting that happen to my daughter. I’m not letting Jeffrey Epstein Look at her like he looked at me, or looked at other girls, Lawley said.
Wexner reportedly was informed of Epstein’s behavior with his models in 1993, but the Victoria’s Secret CEO did not officially end his ties with Epstein until a decade and a half later in 2007.
“Wexner had a lot of wealth, and Jeffrey had a lot of social connections. The two of them together were out and about in society. I mean, I think it’s thought that Epstein had about $400 million that is attributable to Wexner,” Vanessa Grigoriadis, co-host of the podcast “Fallen Angel” which explores the history of Victoria’s Secret, said.
Barry Levine, the author of the book “The Spider: Inside the Criminal Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell” said the new Hulu documentary clarifies that Wexner was informed in 1993 that Epstein was posing as a scout for Victoria’s Secret. Wexner’s people claim that the former-CEO took Epstein aside and made it very clear to stop immediately.
