I’m a model, so was intrigued when I saw the Daily Mail’s juicy story this week that several models were going to sue their former agencies—powerhouse agencies, Wilhelmina Models, Wilhelmina Models International, Elite, Click, MC2 Model and Talent Miami, MC2, Next, and Major Model Management—for mistreatment.
The agencies, the models contend, used their images without their permission, perpetrated sexual harassment against them, and pressured them to have cosmetic surgery—all of this leading to eating disorders, and the alleged circumvention of labor laws.
I am skeptical, and yet still extremely supportive, of the stances of these models. Such a story isn’t surprising: a lot of what these women detailed in their experience doesn’t shock me at all. I have heard echoes of their experiences, and have had to face many similar ones.