In news that makes you “huh?” The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is attempting to stage a comeback this year via a worldwide broadcast of four mini-fashion shows in four different countries on September 26, which will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video. Honestly, who is asking for this? Did someone stumble their way onto a monkey’s paw and ask for this sarcastically, and the wish-giving powers that be don’t understand irony so here we are!? Back on this relic? Come on.
In case you forgot, the fashion shows were canceled in 2019 partly because the cultural zeitgeist it captured for so long finally started to wane and partly because the brand’s previous owner during its heyday, Les Wexner, had Jeffrey Epstein living in his Ohio compound for years, trafficking women and underage girls through the cover of modeling for Victoria’s Secret. Lest we forget, the entire company was also accused of terrible practices, including rampant misogyny. Also, sales started to flag because everyone finally realized the crap Victoria’s Secret sells is cheap and falls apart easily, but that’s just me adding personal color to the story.
The New York Times did a massive expose on the culture of “bullying and harassment” in 2020, and Hulu released a damning docuseries entitled Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons that touched on the culture, Epstein, and the rise and downfall of the company last year. But what’s dead isn’t staying dead, because I guess someone out there thinks a new generation of women don’t hate their bodies and themselves enough, so we’re back on this. Cool.
If this beleaguered brand wants to burst its way onto the 2023 cultural relevancy schedule, it probably needs a big name to help it, right? Enter Doja Cat, who, as a geriatric millennial, I am not entirely familiar with, but I understand is a musician. Anyway, she has her own sexual abuse scandal attached to her currently, and it has nothing to do with Victoria’s Secret. See, her current boyfriend is J. Cyrus, an influencer, musician, actor, basically your average L.A. “get-a-real-job” dilettante. However, Cyrus has been accused of sexual assault by as many as 20 women on Twitter. Normally I don’t approve of expecting women to be held accountable for the actions of the men in their lives. However, if you date a man who’s been accused of sexual assault like that, you are clearly sending a message. Anyway, Doja Cat is slated to perform at the Victoria’s Secret show next month as the headliner. I guess Taylor Swift was no longer available since it’s not 2014 anymore, and she and Karlie Kloss as no longer besties?
So the brand that will probably forever be tied to Jeffrey Epstein has asked an artist who will also probably be forever linked to another alleged sexual abuser to be its headline performing. If you think this is going unnoticed by people, you are incorrect:
I guess the real takeaway here is that it’s not 2005 anymore. You have many options where to buy your underwear, so maybe consider not supporting Victoria’s Secret. Perhaps more importantly, don’t be so hard on yourself. There is someone out there who is probably paid a lot of money who came up with this absolutely terrible idea to relaunch the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows and then doubled down on the terrible idea-ness of it all by having Doja Cat as a headliner, and I all but guarantee you they are not losing any sleep over this colossal PR nightmare. So remember that the next time you accidentally forget to hit mute on your Zoom call.
(Photo by Michael Stewart/FilmMagic)
