NYTimes: Male models recount tales of harassment by Mario Testino and Bruce Weber

[quote] After Gucci hired Mr. Locke for an ad campaign, Mr. Testino was aggressive and flirtatious throughout, Mr. Locke said. On the last day of the shoot, as they were taking photographs on a bed, Mr. Testino said, “I don’t think he’s feeling it. Everybody out,” Mr. Locke recalled.

[quote] “He shuts the door and locks it. Then he crawls on the bed, climbs on top of me and says, ‘I’m the girl, you’re the boy.’ I went at him, like, you better get away. I threw the towel on him, put my clothes on and walked out,” Mr. Locke said.

Ryan Locke for Gucci by Testino.

Testino and his team of hired assistants. Interesting character.

BREAKING NEWS: Actors and Models knowingly put themselves in compromising circumstances in desperation to further their careers; then scream blue-murder when everything their mother told them about the industry comes true!

What's that you say? Eh?

Reply 4. Your comment just exposes your heartless inhumanity.

Models often dream about becoming famous. They spend money and move away from family and friends to chase their dream. They also become dependent on their model agency for their income and to simply eat and keep a roof over their heads.

They are not the problem... The douchebag sexual predators and their apologists (you) are.

Ryan Locke was hot, I was just wondering what happened to him

And r4 is a victim blaming moron. Probably a jealous loser who lives in mom's basement

So is that Obama naked at Gore's pool?

Jason Fedele was a major Gucci model and part inspirational to Ben Stiller when creating the Zoolander character.

male models aren't even well paid.

I love Mario, but he never molested me.

I agree with R6, to a degree.

If you have a modicum of intellect, you should be well aware of how an industry like this "operates".

Yes, the pervs need to grow up, but don't go walking into a business which "sells sex" and not expect that someone will treat you disrespectfully.

Or Locke could’ve delivered and avoided further interaction with Testino. He created an opening.

I think the ones to which R4 is referring are those who agree to sexual demands and then bitch about years later.

Notice how it's always the ones who are not as successful who come out bitching?

Ashton Kutcher started out as a model. I don't know for a fact, but you think he didn't drop trou for some old man to get a favor or two?

Charlize Theron said modeling sucked and she hated it stating it was worse than working as a waitress. She's right!

In his picture in the Times article, Jason Fedele doesn't even look passably handsome.

But yes, R4 is victim-blaming. People just starting their career - any career - have no way of knowing what they might be confronted with. In this case it's up to the industry to police itself.

Of course the bigger problem is when you start mistaking fashion photography for Art and treat the photographers like gods instead of the shallow entertainers they are.

R16 some fashion photography strives to be artistic and succeeds like Tim Walker, but most is about showing models make sexy faces at the camera.

R16 It was during Jason's prime.

I hope that Bruce Weber kept his paws off of my man, Simon Nessman

Jason Fedele is pretty hot. is he gay?

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R14, plenty of the guys who came forward were successful models - like Ryan Locke - it's not just the unsuccessful ones who are "bitching"

And as for Ashton Kutcher, supposedly he took a turn on the Kevin Spacey casting couch

What does Bruce's "wife" have to say about this?

She's too busy making nutloaf to comment.

Jason is bi. He is a great guy. Still hot..

How do you know those things, r25?

Saw him a bit in New York. He's very tall also, at least 6'1 He lived ln 3rd Ave in the low 80s and was very into his guitars.

Is anyone surprised about Weber?

Nope

You might think thay any of these guys should know *something* about the biz and what they are getting into, but consider this. A lot of male models are scouted on college campuses and in shit malls. More than a few are literally right off the farm. They are NAIVE af.

And because they might be jocks and whatnot, being asked to disrobe at first could seem like no big deal, especially if the shoot is male top-heavy. Thinking being “I drop trou in the locker room all the time, so this is no big deal.”

Then it all goes to a place they weren’t expecting.

This is how it plays out.

Testino has likely been paying off models already. He was selling off some of his stuff a while ago with some strange reason for doing so. He has been looking really nervous of late as well.

Oh good lord. It’s simply morgifying for any man of age to complain about being molested or victimized. Grow a pair and tell the old man to knock it the fuck off. Easy peasey no matter what industry or social situation you’re in. I would never have left my NYC apt when I was a stunner in my 20s if I was such a pantywaist. I was aggressively hit on every damn day. You know what? I dealt with it.

Oh boo hoo.

What they received in compensation, adulation, travel, sex with people they actually did want, etc., just makes me feel horrific about their grievous suffering.

I was abused at that age. Like them, I was an adult. Unlike them, I was, and still am, ugly and poor. Cry me a fucking river.

Models are glorified prostitutes, of course this shit will happen to you if you want to be one. I read the guideline Condé Nest just issued after this Weber/Testino mess. If they really will follow those rules expect to see some really un-sexy fashion campaigns next. On a lighter note, i'm sure Brad Koenig will NEVER have a bad word to say about his "mentor" Karl.

Yes R33, you're ugly in so many different ways.

Yeah, Ouiser.

Male models arent paid much and may of them are really not very bright

The joy that you find here you borrow

You cannot keep it long it seems

But gigolo and gigolette

Still sing a song and dance along

The boulevard of broken dreams

Here is where you'll always find me

Always walking up and down

But I left my soul behind me

In an old cathedral town

The joy that you find here you borrow

You cannot keep it long it seems

But gigolo and gigolette

Still sing a song and dance along

The boulevard of broken dreams

the most successful male model barely makes 1 million. I think it's even less...

yes. most models are whores...both male and female. all can be hired.

If they don't want it they should dress like sluts!

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Everybody's looking for a free payday!

Damn, what a bunch of crybabies.

Grow some fucking balls.

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I find that hard to believe, considering...

But somtime yuo hits thee jackpots no ?

R15 I bet it wasn't worse than sleeping with Wankenstein!

Charlize posed nude for Playboy

[quote]Former model Ryan Locke says Testino climbed on top of him during a shoot and said: 'I'm the girl, you're the boy'.

Hope he said "Gurl, please..."

i read the article, one of the models said, if you want to make it, you have to do a nude shoot at the Chateau Marmont with mario t.

I've been the model/advertising industry for over 30 years now here in the USA and have never seen anything happen while on set and i've worked with some of the most famous photographers and clients there are.

If its just the photographers or whoever hitting on them, then they do need to shut up and grow a pair, they're not children. Ive been hit on plenty of times and usually I just think it flattering. They only time i actually had my junk groped was from a limo driver, who had been driving me the week that I was in Lancaster Pennsylvania working on a chute.

And as for these people saying male models don't make any money, well getting $1500 a day for basic catalogue shoots seems like pretty good money to me and much more if its for a national advertising campaign. That's pretty good pay for not needing an education and the work is not crueling. You are fed a catered breakfast and lunch, some one does your hair and make up for you and the stylist deals with all the clothing and props........ all they have to do is stand on set and look attractive and fit the clothing.

It's pretty hilarious today that the casting couch has turned into a fainting couch.

Not only do guys today not have balls they don't have fists.

Michelangelo di Battista is my favorite photographer hope he's not a sick pervert

So what’s wrong with them objecting, even if they were supposed to know better? What’s being lost here if a photographer starts to think that it might be a bad idea to tell everybody to leave the room and then jump on the model?

I'd LOVE to be young, hot and be objectified by some world famous photographer!!

You really can't blame a photographer for hitting on a hot, young, sexy guy...... who wouldn't if they thought they could score. The problem is touching.... no fucking touching allowed. Most professional photographers don't cross that line while working on a real paying shoot, there's too much money involved in a location fashion shoot and no one wants to fuck that up.

R57 me too!

Simply because nobody has ever wanted to objectify me. Better to fight off unwanted advances than be invisible.

I assume.

models are very sensitive. esp the women, if you mention their weight, they cry straight away. one little innocent comment and they fucking cry a waterfall.

R15 I guess this was before she bought her new nose with the money from two days in the valley and Children of the Corn

"If its just the photographers or whoever hitting on them, then they do need to shut up and grow a pair, they're not children. Ive been hit on plenty of times and usually I just think it flattering."

You sound insane. Read the article, this went way beyond "hitting on" guys. Testino sounds like the Kevin Spacey of the fashion world.

I wonder if any gay male models hit on attract straight male photographers?

There's a passage in the article that pisses me off where a model bitches about how models who wouldn't sign nudity waivers would get cut after the first day of shooting - yeah no shit, dummy! You're a fucking model, you're selling your body in exchange for money. The touching shit is wrong but what the hell are these people doing signing up to be models if they don't want to get naked???

Leave it to morons like r64 to make it sound like the victims are the problem....

R61 I guess this was before she bought her new nose with the money from two days in the valley and Children of the Corn

Those are Weinstein films she worked with Harvey at least on 6 or 7 projects!

According to Harvey she slept with him. She posed nude for Playboy and that ass ad. Is she a high-class escort? I guess she's a full time escort and part time actress.

This whole movement is getting out of hand. They are models. They are selling sex and their bodies. If a photographer hits on them, either say no, or go with the flow. NO ONE is forcing them to be there. We all use what we have to get ahead, whether it's connections or intelligence or special skills or, in models' case, their looks. You don't become a model and not expect to be objectified. That's like someone getting hired to do a porn movie, then objecting about having to do a sex scene. If you don't like it, don't go into that field, or, at least, know that your work will be limited to working with just a handful of people. You can always do the Sears Catalogue, snowflake.

r67, using your looks to get ahead does not mean it's okay for people to stick their hands down your pants. The "snowflake" is you, I bet you voted for Trump.

R68 Snowflake melting (triggered).

QUOTE: A few months back someone from the NYT and BOF tried to contact me and ask me what my Facebook post was regarding. I didn’t want to say names but today one of the names is out here, Mario Testino. I can tell you of my experience in Jan 2010. He came for drinks with me, my wife and his friend. He talked of these amazing shoots that we could shoot together and of course I was interested and excited, he is one of the biggest photographers in the world. But, later at another location he changed the subject. He had me separated from my wife and his friend. He got very close to me and just shoved his hand down my pants and I retreated backwards. He told me “Everyone does this. I have couples that I love to shoot that do everything” ( whatever that meant). I said “Well, I’m not everyone”. He then immediately left. He never contacted me again. It’s just an example of how he tried to use his power to get me to do what he wanted. Sure, I could have and maybe had a bigger career for it but it was so aggressive and very uncomfortable. But, he was one of the people I was speaking on. For the record, regarding Bruce Weber, Bruce has treated me respectfully and professionally on the many shoots that I have been involved in with him. This meeting with Mario was setup outside of my modeling agency’s knowledge and was a mistake on my part. For that I take responsibility. These are my personal experiences and in no way am I saying that anyone else’s experiences are true or false. I wasn’t there.

instagram.com/thecorybond

No sympathy for male models? Its almost like y'all are lapping up the schadenfreude coz male models are too pretty, they are also dim therefore they deserve this.

These models are ADULTS. They can say no. I have been groped and been uncomfortably pursued by men and women. If you do not want to do what they want you to do, you can always say no. Without getting into details, I make and sell things. Someone wanted to buy one of the things I make, but it was clear he wanted to blow me. So...I let him him blow me, and he bought it. Am I proud of myself for doing it? Of course not. Am I glad I made the sale? Of course I am. I had the power to say no, but I chose to engage in that behavior in order to get what I want. Was it worth it? Yes. I was comfortable enough with letting him do it that it didn't torture me, and we both got what we wanted. That kind of negotiating has been happening since the dawn of time, and it's not about to change any time soon. And please with the "you're a whore" nonsense. I'm an adult that did what I had to do in order to get what I wanted. I'm not the first and I'm not the last. And if I didn't want to, I could have said no. Am I going to accuse this guy for his behaviour? Of course not, although he is worth millions and could be blackmailed. All of us use what we have to get what we want.

Bullshit. There’s no way the man who took this wholesome family photo would ever put his subjects in a compromising position. Bruce Weber is being slandered!!

None of these guys got fucked, so what's the problem.

Im really enjoying seeing all these deified assholes ( Testino, Weinstein, Spacey, etc,) being dragged though the mud.

how do we get a view of his thousands of cock and hole shots of all those models he 'knew'....

BARE POND

Arthur Elgort and Steven Meisel are going to be the only guys left!

BUMP

[quote]These models are ADULTS.

And those photographers are supposed to be PROFESSIONALS. How is this different from your accountant trying to steal your money?

What are you guys talking about?

Bruce Weber is STRAIGHT. He told me so himself!

I wonder why I never even realized Mario Testino is gay.

I read the NYT article and if the stories are true Testino certainly used his position plainly wrong. I assume it feels like living in a candyland when you're surrounded by gorgeous men all the time but crabbing cocks and expecting sex for work isn't exactly right.

I’ve been following the fashion industry closely since I was a baby gay. The rumors about Bruce have been out there for a while (there was a period where he had a creepy obsession with an underaged model named Peter Johnson). However, all I ever heard about Mario is that he had a team of attractive male assistants...

People don’t realize how significant the Ryan Locke revelations are. He was easily one of the top male models at the time. Actually, Models.com would come out with model rankings based on industry demand/income, and he was usually number two (behind Tyson Ballou). He was one of the few male models to earn millions in the early 00s...sabotaging his career when he had pulled off the unthinkable wouldn’t have been easy.

Ryan Locke looks like dried-up dog shit now. Yeesh.

and your point R83?

What's the point of the "they can say no and not be pussies" posts? These guys did say no and push him off going by their stories. Why should they keep quiet about it, to cover for the asshole?

What? Hmmm no no no, I don’t know, well I... oh je ne parles pas l’anglais

[quote]No sympathy for male models? Its almost like y'all are lapping up the schadenfreude coz male models are too pretty, they are also dim therefore they deserve this.

I don’t know about “deserving” but this definitely falls under “First World Problems.” Modeling is such a vain, expendable industry full of vain, expendable people that I almost don’t care what happens to these people. I mean...you have two choices, either let the creepy old guy go down on you and monetize the experience by furthering a career that will last maybe 5 to 10 years--if you’re lucky--OR tell the perv you’re not into that and keep it moving. It’s kind of that simple...of course, that depends on the severity of the harassment. What I read in that article seems pretty tame and something that I could easily blow off.

I personally don’t see the problem with the first choice, especially in such a revolving door industry. Do what you can--as long as nobody is getting hurt--to further and/or extend your career. No moral judgments from me.

I’m only speaking on the male experience because of the double standard between genders when it comes to these things.

........But yeah, cry me a river, fellas.

R87 - so your point is that since I'm good looking I should expect to have to exchange sexual favors in order to be employed?

Yes because as a good looking individual you have no choice in life except to be a male model selling your looks, body and youth to a humdrum populace while a horny middle aged photographer fucks you with his camera.

R88 Did his thesis on Minute Men From Mars.

R72 what r u selling? 😘

The comments here supporting creepy Testino and Webber are vile. You queens are disgusting.

We are not disgusting, R91. They weren't raped. They weren't held against their will. They weren't drugged. They were groped. Big fucking deal. If they didn't want to do it, they should say no. If Weber or Testing didn't use them for the shoot, so? They might be successful photographers out there, but they are hardly the only ones.

[quote]Leave it to morons like R64 to make it sound like the victims are the problem....

This has become a recurring theme on DL since the Weinstein & Spacey stories broke.

I've fucked guys for a lot less than fame and fortune. I have no sympathy for these men.

And I thought "Testino" was the Italian word for "Testicle."

r94, most of them aren't famous and don't have a "fortune"

R96 they have more fame and money than me.

So if they have more fame and fortune than you, it's okay for them to be assaulted?

I wonder if the beautiful Miss Cillian Murphy has been hit on by male photographers?

Guys, I'm straight AND married.

I love my Bush!

Sickening

Brad Pitt by Mario Testino. June 2005

Leonardo DiCaprio by Bruce Weber | Interview magazine June 1994

I don't advocate victim blaming, but a few things to consider:

- Bruce Weber is known for his provocative, bordering on homo-erotic imagery of nude and semi-nude men. If a model had a problem with that, it probably would have been a smart idea for them to turn down the assignment, knowing the would be naked, oiled up, and posed deliberately to look provocative. Accept the assignment, you get no pity. If you are handsome, photogenic and confident enough, you'll get work no matter what perceived threats you fear you may get.

- ALL models, male and female, have bathing suit and underwear shots in their portfolio. If you are too shy, ashamed or skittish about taking off your clothing, having strangers see you nude or touch you to put makeup or oil on your body, or even be talked to provocatively in order to get a "look" or reaction on film, the modeling SHOULDN'T be your profession. In 2015, a Paris runway show featured male models walking down the catwalk nude, for god's sake. The male models complaining to the Times were all adult. I daresay they were handsier to girls they hit on at bars. Grow some balls.

- Not a single model said they were actually raped. Often they were over 6' tall, muscular, and easily able to have gotten themselves out of the situation. In fact, one model admits to having done as much. That model, by the way, was not blackballed from the industry, proving that there was no credible threat. No one held a gun or knife to them, and as I said, the threat of "never working again in the business" was ridiculous as many of them already had established reputations. In fact, had they wanted to, they probably could have blackmailed the photographers by threatening to go public.

- Finally, I have a tough time believing accounts of events that supposedly took place 20 years ago. Gee, it wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you no longer look good and might be trying to extend your 15 minutes of fame, would it?

R105, the fact that you think this is about trying to get 15 minutes of fame is ridiculous. Yeah, it couldn't be that there are genuine predators in the fashion industry. Testino and Weber are falsely accused saints!!!!!

Why don't you "grow some balls" and stand up to predators instead of defending them.

It sounds like you guys are just jealous of the male models because they're hot. That explains the victim blaming.

What's disgusting is these men having morning after, huh I'm sorry, 20 year after regret.

And that Damon quote is equally disgusting. Gee you don't have to do everything somebody tells you?

21st Century Ivy Leaguer.

Everybody is a VICTIM!!!

Apparently R105 didn't bother to read the article.

Let me refine my earlier comment apparently because I'm good looking my career choices are limited by what sexual favors i'm willing to perform?

R89 - So it's OK for photographer to make sexual favors a condition of employment? How about an accountant - can she or he make sexual favors a requirement? If not, why?

r106 - When your modeling career is over and your looks are gone, getting to be on the front cover of the NY Times IS extending your 15 minutes of fame.

The events recounted are long past, there were no police reports filed, and it is all hearsay and conjecture. Wait! But three models all came forward with similar stories! Shouldn't that maybe add a little weight to the accusations? Weber and Testino have worked with HUNDREDS of models, and three of them made an accusation 10-20 years after having worked with them? Sounds like jumping on the #me too bandwagon.

Good-looking people are so entitled.

Get a real job, and stop these lame accusations.

R110, you sound dumb. Even the worst predators don't molest every single person they come in contact with. The stories are very believable, and many models (male and female) have similar stories about photographers taking advantage. And no one is getting "famous" from this, this story is not going to get the attention that, say, Cosby got because most people outside the fashion world don't care about fashion photographers.

#enoughalready. NO ONE forced them to do ANYTHING. They were hit on. Big fucking deal. I'm sure it wasn't the first time, nor was it the last that they were hit on. Some of it was clumsy and inappropriate. So? Say no, and leave. I have no sympathy for these "victims." And, yes, everyone and their blind mother knows that Weber is famous for homoerotic and provocative photos featuring nude and almost nude men. If that makes you uncomfortable. don't book the gig! It's that simple.

R105- how do you know some who haven't cod forward weren't raped? There are probably tons more victims who chose not to come forward in These scandals.

As for why they didn't speak up 20 years ago, because things were a lot different back then. Many people accepted harassment as part of the business and there was no social media. I read an article that said there were allegations against Testino dating back to the 90s. No one cared or listened. Terry Richardson was accused only a few years ago and yet celebrities and all the magazines still worked with him. It wasn't until Weinstein got taken down that there started to be consequences for these people.

I'm expecting all these barely legal twinks doing porn on the internet to start now playing the victim card as well.

What these photographers were doing was wrong but jesus Christ people were you all born yesterday?

You don't think artists were hitting on models and forcing themselves on them since the Renaissance and before?

Why do you think they used prostitutes?

When did models become so exhibitionist and at the same time so infantile?

*come* forward.

It's all so hypocritical for them to come out now and complain.

or maybe the word is opportunistic.

Isabella Rossellini is team Webe

^^^Bruce Weber invented gayface?

I like this notion that news outlets have always been ready and willing to give national publicity to anyone’s sexual abuse claim about any kind of famous person, no matter who brings it to them or what it’s about.

“[R89] - So it's OK for photographer to make sexual favors a condition of employment what do about an accountant - can she or he make sexual favors a requirement? If not, why?” R109

An accountant is not trying to sell me sex and did not become an accountant to be photographed by some of the most famous accountants in the world.- In short there is no correlation.

A model maybe insecure, but they go into rhat profession because of their looks and they sell their sexuality. Bruce Weber and Mario are two of the greatest photographers in the world. Having your image immortalised forever would be a model’s great dream.

My biggest concern with all of this outrage is that we live in an outrage society full of victims, however when the rejection by the Public come and it will , it all becomes just another day, the real victims of rape and molestation will be forgotten.

A newscaster got a lot of publicity because someone felt up and down her leg 20 years before. The same week a woman was raped 3 different times in a park. Guess which one got the main coverage?

[quote][R87] - so your point is that since I'm good looking I should expect to have to exchange sexual favors in order to be employed?

Yeah...no. My point is that you certainly SHOULD expect to be put into positions where exchanging sexual favors will benefit you when attempting to establish a career in MODELING--not bagging groceries at Tom Thumb--and the decision is up to you whether you want to do it OR you don’t.

What part of that do you not get?

R87 is so dim he'd make the perfect model.

He doesn't get anything. He'd now expect to trade sexual favors to get a job on a sanitation truck.

The quoted story @ R1 - that's a classic photographer's pose: cowboy-straddling the model, photographing him/her from above.

It was on the poster of Antonini's 1966 film "Blow-Up".

....

Someone should dig up Eric Nies and ask him about that naked book he made with Weber.

R119

Isabella Rossellini is canceled

Edie Campbell

I’m not really sure what to say in response to yesterday’s NYT story, but I’m not sure silence from within the fashion industry is necessarily very helpful either.

Here’s four quotes from my WWD piece that outline my thoughts. To all the men, your bravery is an inspiration. You had little to gain by coming forwards, and plenty to lose. By speaking out, you have done the hardest part: you have broken the cycle of abuse; and your actions will protect many many others from suffering the same assault and harassment. To all those who dismiss, discredit, and try - once more - to control and belittle these men, and in particular Lavely and Singer, what you’re doing is shameful. #TimesUp

EXCLUSIVE: Edie Campbell Pens Open Letter on Model Abuse

[quote] I've been the model/advertising industry for over 30 years now […] They only time i actually had my junk groped was from a limo driver, who had been driving me the week that I was in Lancaster Pennsylvania working on a chute.

Things in the fashion biz must be really going down the toilet. Fashion advertisers are now moonlighting as garbage-men, reduced to working on some clogged trash “chute” in freakin’ Pennsylvania.

Or moonlighting as high-class escorts. Driven around in a limousine while diligently working their tongue on someone’s Amish backside “chute”.

What a shocking world we live in now. Desperate times indeed, R53.

Today is a devastating day. There are so many that did not want this day to come and so many that needed for this day to arrive. Nobody wins in this situation. You want so much to believe that the truly gifted, your heroes, the people you idolized, who shaped you, inspired you, seemed super human, made you dream and want to pursue yours could never be capable of something inconceivable, that they had to above such behavior. We now know that none of them are above the law. My admiration goes out to all of those who bravely chose speak up. Lavely & Singer how dare you in such “typical" fashion put the people who told their stories on trial to distract from the issue. The classic questioning the mental health, the disgruntled employee, shaming someone for posing for nudes. These statements are insulting and reek of guilt. I began my career with Jason, Taber and Ryan all of who Im in touch with to this day. They have moved on, to new careers, to be husbands and fathers. Not one of them had anything to gain from re-living a painful experience for no reason. The difference is unlike then, today we collectively have the choice to speak and no longer remain silent. The thing that those who abuse never seem to understand is that your action took something from us. While you go back to your lives because your power gave you protection, we become two people. The person we were before the “incident" and the one after. Thats what you leave us with. We don’t get a second chance to be whole. I often wonder what path my life would have if what happened to me never had. Would my life have been better? Worse? Ill never know the answer to that question. Think about how that feels to live with. How could you not understand that before you decided to exert your power and cross a line that would change the course of someones life forever? Im sad because I and this industry have all lost something today. Im sad it was these people. It may sound superficial but all of those images that I grew up on, so passionately devoured, that formed my eye, made me dream and shaped my career all of a sudden went hollow. But this should not end here. Today should be the beginning.

[quote] crabbing cocks and expecting sex for work isn't exactly right.

People tried to "crab" your cock, R81? That sounds very fishy!

LOL, R133, fishy indeed.

[quote] how do you know some who haven't cod forward weren't raped?

I’ll mullet over and get back to you, R114.

I’ve been herring salty rumors about lots of photographers.

The fashion industry is a dangerous plaice.

I have a funny eeling about Testino & Weber.

But we need to scale back the inter-net fish-hunts.

These are just some people's clams. No-fin is proven yet.

R132:

" We don’t get a second chance to be whole."

Absolutely asinine statement.

Every fuckin DAY you have another chance to make YOURSELF whole.

This kind of weakness is why the powerful end up doing such things.

Time to grow up people.

Its great the powerful are being called out.

Now use it as a chance to really get strong.

Modeling is soft-core porn.

Any minor dreaming about entering modeling should be informed by their parents that models are essentially erotica workers and strippers. And that the whole industry is chock-full of pervs.

Once they purge the industry of all the creeps - there will hardly be any fashion photographers left.

It seems like most of you come from really dysfunctional backgrounds (alcoholic parents, perhaps?).

It doesn’t matter if it is fashion or not, or what you think of the fashion industry. You owe other human beings a civilized behavior in your interactions with them, Both Testino and Weber clearly failed to conduct themselves like responsible and ethical adult men would.

R129 Edie Campbell is such a wonderful human being... had the pleasure of working with her on several major ad campaigns and also a lot of editorial. She’s beautiful inside and out and not afraid to be a voice. The modeling world needs more like her.

The world is wild R138---

Get Strong and open your eyes

Edie Campbell is smart and beautiful

R140 wrong thread for me to bring it up I guess, but my dream girlfriend for Timothée Chalamet (should it prove true he’s straight) would be Edie. They would look great together and, from what I’ve seen of him in interviews, their sensibilities would be a total match as well.

Teased her about this on a shoot recently and she admitted to crushing on him a bit LOL.. but said “who isn’t these days!”

Whoops! ^^^^^ was for R141

[quote] Both Testino and Weber clearly failed to conduct themselves like responsible and ethical adult men would

"Clearly"? The lawsuit against Weber is still ongoing, R138. Which means there's nothing "clear" about it yet.

R144 according to James Scully there are public records of them settling privately against claims from models several years ago... can’t recall if it was Testino or Webber, or both. That would strongly suggest a high probability of guilt in some form or fashion (no pun intended).

of course theyre true but thats not the issue

Can a DL resident lawyer clarify this issue? AFAIK, private settlements are not admissible evidence of guilt.

Because a private settlement can come about for a variety of reasons. E.g. the accused doesn't want a public court battle (with appeals) dragging on, potentially for years, and ruining his life during that interim process (even if he has a good chance of winning).

Controversially, a private settlement can also signal that the accuser doesn't believe he has a solid enough, convincing case against the accused - and so settles out of court, rather than risk losing his own claim in court.

Another interesting legal aspect of this: Can non-molested models sue as well, based on unfair hiring practice for a publicly advertised job?

E.g. let's say Testino hit on or 'molested' a candidate model during an audition. That model kept silent (at the time) and got the job. If the incident is proven, can the other candidate models (who applied for the position and were selected to audition) sue Testino (and also the company he was working for, e.g. Vogue - a defendant with much bigger pockets) for unfair hiring practice?

Is Bruce Weber the photographer who shot a lot of pics for Australian gay magazine DNA or am I getting mixed up?

R149, you might be thinking of the old A&F magazines/catalogs that they used ages ago. Bruce Weber did work for them. I don't think he has ever shot for DNA. Rick Day has done a lot of work for DNA.

Cheers [R150] The era when I read DNA magazine the most was between say 2001-2009 and I recall a gorgeous model Brandon Mackay in a shoot with a photographer promoted regularly in the magazine.

Yes, so let's all just suspend reality and pretend that models have no idea as to what the pitfalls of their profession are.

[R150] I think it may be photographer Adam Bouska who I am getting a little blurred and mixed up with.

[quote] i'm sure Brad Koenig will NEVER have a bad word to say about his "mentor" Karl.

Why would he R34? Karl is practically his real partner. The baby mama is the actual third wheel in that relationship.

Also R154 I think Karl is gay but truly asexual when it comes to any sexual act. This was his m/o even since the 1970s... objectify, bring guys into his inner circle, and become a voyeur of sorts. I doubt Karl has ever forced himself physically on anyone... he’s too frigid.

R155, what makes you think Lagerfeld's asexual? You have some inside info or are you just guessing? He hasn't always been how he's today. Just because you know nothing about someone's personal sex life doesn't mean said person lacks one.

Karl was never asexual. He might be now because he is too narcissistic. His own vanity would never allow him to show his decaying body to someone else. Brad would probably still fuck him if Karl wanted to though...

I have been in the room with both of them, and I don't claim to know their arrangements, but that's Brad partner for all intents and purposes.

R156 it’s just a feeling but also the result of comments he has made in many interviews and also the pretty reliable “research” that went into The Beautiful Fall... Karl is a self admitted observer (albeit one who likely manipulates who/ what he is observing) ...no drinking, no sex, no drugs. He has stated this is why he survived the 70s.

“I’m a total puritan, although I find watching other people’s adventures amusing. I am a Calvinist toward myself, and totally indulgent toward others,” Karl Lagerfeld

you can settle out of court without admitting any guilt.

R138 I hope you never see Blow Up

Your life will be shattered. You will be emotionally scarred. You'll probably have to throw up.

I get it isn't easy. You are surrounded by gorgeous, half-naked guys in sexually charged situations day in and day out. The temptation is there.

But the models aren't your play things. You gotta be an adult and look but don't touch, you aren't allowed to grab anyone that doesn't want you to grab them.

Models need to realize that getting groped is an expected occupational hazard.

They're being paid to stand around and look beautiful, for fuck's sake. The alternative is they can always get a REAL job.

R148, i'm not a lawyer but here is my opinion. you want to sue because you didn't get the job (because you didn't put out). sure you can sue but will you win? that is the question. in my opinion, you won't because, they will simply say you weren't the look they were looking for, you weren't right for the job etc.

R122, I'm with you. This is starting to seem like a class problem more and more. Look at a famous woman sideways and it's a national emergency while no name nobodies are being raped without so much as a single headline.

I don't like Anziz Assari (sp) but that sounded like a woman had a bad date with a beta male and is now getting her revenge on the little guy. It's not like she easy an actress trying out for actress part on his show.

But it is current year and workplaces should be devoid of sketchiness. I would like to see a documentary about male models past their prime. What do they do? What kind of careers can they have afterwards.

"Look at a famous woman sideways and it's a national emergency while no name nobodies are being raped without so much as a single headline."

Well, duh, that's not a class issue that's a fame issue. People care more about famous people than non-famous people, so of course FAMOUS women are going to get more attention. By the way, poor and minority women are more likely to be victims of rape than well-off white women. They are also more likely to be victims of domestic violence.

Why do the majority of the accused all look like trolls and ogres?

awwww poor babies.

[quote] NYTimes: Male escorts recount tales of harassment by Mario Testino and Bruce Weber

Fixed it

Sorry, they're opportunists trying to ride the current wave of #MeToo.

They're just dog-whistling homophobic support, and here's why -

- these models get women (often female models) rubbing their breasts up on them and propositioning them from time to time - think the parties after big shows, often in international locations where civility is even less restrictive.... but do these heterosexual models scream about sexual harassment then? No, they don't, they know how to fend off unwanted heterosexual advances (or take them up on the offer), but if it's a homosexual advance, well then, that's different ..... and I say, fuck these snowflake models that never entertained the idea on the way in to their modelling careers that both heterosexual and homosexual orientations are a reality, and that they should deal with both in the same manner ... how often do you hear the models complaining about some woman that won't get off their case - never - because they deal with it appropriately as they choose - but hey, there's great mileage to be had in blowing an advance from a gay man way out of proportion .... opportunists the lot of them!

If you know a guy is super interested in you to the point where you don't finish dinner and go back alone with him to his apartment and are upset he sexually assaults you whether a man or woman your profession is cock tease and you deserve no sympathy or seriousness.

And by sexual assault I of course don't mean rape but somebody who starts pawing you and clearly is hot and horny.

Thanks, R164 - I think there’s a potential lawsuit argument for unharassed / rejected models that job allocation was based unfairly on some models quietly accepting sexual petting (if any is proven / recorded). That regardless of the unharassed model’s chances, the audition process itself was an unprofessional sham, favoring those who got hit on.

They probably wouldn’t be awarded a big sum, but they can at least claim back any expenses they wasted on the sham audition, as many new models pay for that themselves (travel, food, hotel, agent’s fees).

“"Clearly"? The lawsuit against Weber is still ongoing, [R138]. Which means there's nothing "clear" about it yet.”

People whose behavior at work is beyond reproach don’t have multiple accusions levied against them.

Did sizzlin’ hot Brazilian Marlon Teixeira weigh in yet?

Testino shot him frequently and catapulted him to fame.

If Mario chased those ‘meh’ models instead of Marlon, he needs his eyesight checked.

No point in suing unless you have a witness to corroborate your story, which almost never is the case in sexual assault.

And what about DL fave bad-boy douche, Alex Pet-my-fur? Worked with Testino.

In case he didn’t get hit on, that would mean that even Testino has standards!

Darlin', they're all whores.

I prefer Weber’s work over Testino’s. Testino seems to mostly shoot guys, statically & pretentiously leaning against a boring blank white backdrop. Often holding a white ‘modesty’ towel (in that boring “Towel” series).

Weber shoots guys in more dynamic, carefree poses, often unabashedly & happily naked, and includes some nice background shots of nature and cute golden retrievers.

Though his short films are eye-rolling ‘artiste’ stream-of-consciousness crap. They’re so bad, they’re hilariously good.

Why are you talking about parties, R170? This whole story is about the fact that it’s happening at work.

Was the Weber stuff happening "at work" though? it sounds like Bruce was shooting these guys on his own time when he did the alleged groping - he didn't this shoot on the AF set. That one model was like, "What am I even doing here? What are these pictures even for?" Sounds like Bruce's stuff mostly happened on their own time.

I only have eyes for Nan!

Ummm, what does being beautiful and sexy and being paid for it have ANYTHING to do with fulfilling sexual favors? It’s your JOB’s specialty, like customer service is friendly, construction workers are strong, policemen are brave, singers have a lovely voice, etc. The job is to make clothes look pretty. A model should “expect” to be treated how any other worker on a job is traditionally treated: with respect. SLEAZY COERCIVE ABUSE OF POWER, PERIOD.

[quote] The job is to make clothes look pretty.

Half the time their job is to sell butt-naked photos of themselves - to intentionally provoke sexual excitement. The clothes are either not there at all, or barely featured.

Nowadays it’s mostly only regular work-horse ‘catalog models’ that work with actual clothes. But neither Weber, nor Testino shoot catalog much. They do big poster / magazine cover campaigns - the intentionally pornographic ones. That’s their TM style and everyone knows it.

But you’re right. A club stripper shouldn’t be fondled. ‘Model’ strippers have the same rulebook.

Bruce Weber got round that problem in one case by directing the models to touch each other (like in a porno). Problem solved.

[quote][R87] is so dim he'd make the perfect model.

[quote]He doesn't get anything. He'd now expect to trade sexual favors to get a job on a sanitation truck.

Look, I’m very sorry that you have trouble understanding simple things like consequences of your actions, taking responsibility or reading comprehension....but being defensive and projecting is counterproductive.

Weber's book "Chop Suey" is pretty much a "How To" guide on molesting underage boys.

Amazed it took this long for it all to catch up to him.

R185 yes if you are a good looking CPA you shouldn't have to fuck the CEO of Delloite to keep your job.

I think we agree that's wrong.

Male model Cory Bond came forward with a story about Mario:

Everyone has the right to a safe and secure work environment. If there is money involved in a work environment the safe & secure provision supersedes all claims of “what else did they expect?” The modeling community is a tight-knit and shallow world. If a model is termed “difficult” their reputation can be ruined faster than many on here can iron a caftan. My guess is that the DLers saying “get a real job” don’t know what effort people put into their careers. It’s kind of like saying Meryl Streep just stands in front of a camera all day. Or saying she should just walk away from a movie if she doesn’t like a wardrobe selection. There are modeling contracts involved, financial obligations, scheduling commitments...and every model knows that if they rebuff someone word could get out and put the entire agency out of business in no time flat.

Shame on you R169

[quote]There are modeling contracts involved, financial obligations, scheduling commitments...and every model knows that if they rebuff someone word could get out and put the entire agency out of business in no time flat.

exactly, so it's a given in the industry, and so go in with your eyes wide open, and if you don't like then get out, but don't tolerate for it years and then start freaking out .... they made their beds....

Threads about male models always inspire a lot of condescension and hostility. I wonder why.

People aren't saying get a 'real job.' Projection much R189?

People are saying that for a long time modelling has been about selling bodies and sex and that there is a knowing blurring of the lines between the photographer fucking a model with a camera and fucking the models literally. This is a sexually charged atmosphere and if that makes you feel uncomfortable you shouldn't be a part of it.

And that's not wrong. But for any model who is an adult to feel that that they are shocked and upset to be subject to the aggressive advances of somebody like Weber is laughable. It's a total case of what the fuck did you expect. This has been going on forever which is why 'respectable people' did not go on the stage or pose nude for paintings or photographs because they were considered prostitutes. And there was a reason for this. Because they were. And being a prostitute is not wrong either. But if you are going to get all high and mighty about selling your body then don't do it. Personally if I would have had no problem with it if I had had the looks for it. I would have been very proud. But if I had found the photographer repulsive I wouldn't have worked for him knowing what it might entail. If that cost me other jobs then I would know it was time to get out.

You make modelling for some of these photographers sound like jobs no different than logistics director for a retail chain. Well little Mr. Self Righteous they are.

Someone should steal their laptops and hard drives.

[quote] My guess is that the DLers saying “get a real job” don’t know what effort [models] put into their careers.

If a modeling career required outstanding effort and skill, then current top models (the Hadids, Jenner, Delevingne, Kloss) would be permanently unemployed.

More accusations against Weber. I guess the trolls will insist that these guys are lying, too, because Bruce is an ANGEL

Anna Wintour is "pulling a Meryl" - feigning ignorance about everything.

Wintour hired Testino and Weber for jobs for decades. She was essentially their creative boss. No way that she and Vogue's top management didn't know, or at least hear multiple accounts / rumors.

The model agency execs who sent models out to '"informal auditions" in photographers' private apartments - yeah, those agents likely knew too.

The whole industry's top management is complicit. It's a brothel.

that link at r196 is RIDICULOUS and shows absolutely no inkling of how the fashion photography world works -- a model showed up to a job and refused to take their clothes off for the job? Of course their ass is fired. Dude doesn't even have a story about BW trying to touch him, all he has is I wouldn't do the job I was hired to do and they fired me. That's an entire paragraph of this thing. Okay? What did that waste of time prove exactly? These are a bunch of nobodies with their heads stuck in the sand pretending they get it when they get shit

[quote] D.L. Janney, a former male model [...] said that while on a break during a shoot for British Vogue in 1982, Weber asked him to strip down to his underwear for a photo he could take to Calvin Klein, whose campaigns Weber was shooting at the time. Janney was eager to comply until Weber asked him to get completely nude.

To be fair, asking a model to take of their underwear for a test shoot sounds a bit unnecessary. Unless the 1982 CK shoot was supposed to be "au-naturel"?

*take off

[quote] Anna Wintour is "pulling a Meryl" - feigning ignorance about everything. Wintour hired Testino and Weber for jobs for decades. She was essentially their creative boss. No way that she and Vogue's top management didn't know, or at least hear multiple accounts / rumors.

Willing to cut Meryl some slack. She does not really seem to be the sharpest tack socially, is bit of a phony if anything, and was at the end of the day despite the prestige factor and leverage, just another set of hired hands for the projects she worked upon. Wintour can't really wash her hands clean of this in the same way. She manages and maneuvers people directly in the meat market, has done for many decades, and has personally gained plenty based on other peoples desirability and marketability.

I worked with Weber years ago. He had this reputation of being one of the best in the industry so everyone wanted to work with him. He touched me inappropriately while he was trying to get me to pose for the shot and I didn’t think much of it at the time, it wa for “art”. The following shoot I had with him he wanted me nude for some extra shots which weren’t related to the shoot and I told him I wasn’t comfortable with that. It was the last time I was asked to shoot with him, and I’m convinced he had me blackballed with other photographers.

Hi 202, If you don't mind recalling, what exactly did Weber do to you that you felt was "inappropriate"?

It was the way he grabbed me by the ass to “arrange” me in the pose. At first I didn’t think anything of it but he kept grabbing me there instead of by the shoulders or waist to get the pose he wanted it. And when I discussed it with model friends after the shoot they all acknowledged that he did stuff like that but everyone was afraid to report him because they didn’t want to lose work.

Sorry that happened to you and thanks for sharing, R202 / R204.

What did you think of him personality-wise - did he give off a lecherous vibe? Or was he one one of those outwardly respectable / gentlemanly types, who get handsy under the table?

Some of the other models are claiming he became verbally abusive if he didn't get his way. And that he (or someone else organizing the shoot) made drugs available for models - to help them 'relax'. Did you come across any of this?

r198, you don't know how the modeling world works. You don't just ask models to take off all their clothes for no reason. Stop attacking the victims, you must be Bruce's "wife"

I wasn’t aware of the drug use or if it was available, it wasn’t something I was interested in so maybe that’s why I wasn’t aware. Bruce seemed very cordial and professional and I was excited to work with him because I knew he was considered one of the top photographers in the industry. He made you feel like you were special and he captured great shots. He wasn’t physically verbal with me when I told him I wasn’t comfortable doing the nude shots, but I never got a booking with him after I turned him down. I didn’t stay in the industry for long anyway so it didn’t matter that much to me at the time.

R207, so many here talk of long term effects so could you give some sense of how it effected you personally not professionally if at all

I wasn’t “emotionally scarred” from the experience. I was shocked that he wasn’t professional. I don’t think anyone likes being hit on by someone much older than you who aren’t attracted to in an unprofessional way.

So whats your take R209 regarding the article?

omg, where the fuck have yall been? it's been a fucking brothel for decades! the models are all whores. their clients just open up the magazines and pick and choose.

I’m glad their harassment is finally out in the open. Lots of women are harassed in the industry too and with it being exposed perhaps it will put an end to some of it. Not all of them are willing participants .

Thanks R212--

Good you got out while the gettin was good!

I don’t really miss it......too much rejection.

ESPECIALLY when you keep your pants on.

Good for you!

In some behind-the-scenes films of modeling shoots, stylists were touching models all over: oiling them, patting them dry, dressing & undressing them, adjusting underwear.

I guess stylists and photographers get so used to manipulating bodies, they sometimes forget basic manners and start to manhandle.

I read about one stylist nonchalantly reaching in and adjusting some model's cock into the proper position (for a boxer-briefs shoot). The model shouted at him that he can adjust his own cock, thank you very much. The stylist shot back that he's just doing his job, b/c the model didn't do it right. This squabble apparently happened in public. Oy vey.

This of course doesn't rationalize why Weber was apparently grabbing people's butts without good reason.

I wish I had been that good looking.

If you think it's demeaning to be wanted just for your looks imagine what it's like not to be wanted because of your looks.

You can fend off unwanted attention but you can't attract attention if you are invisible because of your homeliness.

Isabella Rossellini posted this a few days ago on her Instagram. I know some of you will ridicule her ... but it was the right thing to say

"l worked with Bruce Weber for more than 35 years. I have personally never experienced or heard about any abuses until reading the New York Times this morning. For me, working with Bruce has always been a joy. The atmosphere he cultivates on his sets always felt friendly and fun. I was very happy when Bruce hired my children, who are both models, to work with him. Working with talented artists is a great life lesson. Over the course of his career, Bruce's images have contributed to advance many social causes: For example, he gave gay men a “face” that was not of darkness and perversion, but of beauty and appeal. He worked with me when others wouldn’t because I was considered "too old." I'm sharing this not to invalidate anyone else's experience, but just to share my own. Bruce is a great artist and my friend, and I want him to know I love him and I am grateful to him."

Jason Fedele went from being Tom Ford's boy toy to a fat ass carpenter. He still shows a lot of ass crack, but not in a good way.

Ingrid is probably spinning in her grave about her daughter’s tone deaf statement.

"Isabella Rossellini posted this a few days ago on her Instagram. I know some of you will ridicule her ... but it was the right thing to say"

Yeah, nice logic there, Isabella: "He never molested ME!" No shit. And to claim he's some sort of savior for gay men while hiding behind a fake wife.

To be fair, male model Cory Bond said exactly the same thing about Weber as Rossellini:

[quote] "For the record, regarding Bruce Weber, Bruce has treated me respectfully and professionally on the many shoots that I have been involved in with him. [...] These are my personal experiences and in no way am I saying that anyone else’s experiences are true or false. I wasn’t there.

Gratuitous photo of Bond below:

Beautiful.

Bond only accuses Testino. Regardless of the veracity of his claim, his narrative is interestingly refreshing. He apparently confidently rebuffed Testino's alleged physical advance - both with words and defensive action. He also doesn't weep that it was traumatizing for life - he describes it more stoically as "uncomfortable". And, surprisingly, he also takes on some personal responsibility for the mistake (as he calls it) of meeting the photographer for drinks in a semi-private situation. He clarifies that his agency was not at fault.

Bond sounds like an actual adult.

[quote] [Testino] got very close to me and just shoved his hand down my pants and I retreated backwards. He told me “Everyone does this" [...]. I said “Well, I’m not everyone”. He then immediately left." [...] "Sure, I could have and maybe had a bigger career for it but it was so aggressive and uncomfortable".

[quote] This meeting with Mario was set up outside of my modeling agency’s knowledge and was a mistake on my part. For that I take responsibility.

This definitely seems like a blurred line. Here, the photographer put the guy in wet white underwear and must have told him to be hard—or fluffed him? Is consensual sexual activity considered professional on the model’s part, or does it cross a line into sex work?

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]