100 models sign petition demanding Victoria's Secret take action on sexual misconduct after its links to Jeffrey Epstein were exposed

The signatories want Victoria's Secret to commit to an initiative that would require its employees and contractors to follow a code of conduct that protects model safety on the job.
The petition has been signed by several high profile models including former Victoria's Secret Angels, Christy Turlington and Doutzen Kroes.
Epstein reportedly used his ties to Victoria's Secret's parent company's CEO to coerce victims into sexual acts by promising them modeling jobs.
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More than 100 models have signed a petition asking Victoria's Secret to take action on sexual misconduct and commit to an initiative that would require its employees and contractors to follow a code of conduct that protects model safety on the job.

The petition comes as the brand comes under intense scrutiny over its connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A New York Times report revealed that Epstein used his connection to Les Wexner, the CEO of Victoria's Secret's parent company L Brands, as a way to coerce victims into sexual acts by promising them modeling jobs. L Brands has now hired an outside law firm to review its relationship with Epstein.

The petition and open letter, which has been spearheaded by Model Alliance a nonprofit advocacy organization for people that work in the fashion industry that was set up by former model Sara Ziff, who recently wrote about her experience meeting Epstein has been signed by several high profile models. These include former Victoria's Secret Angels, Christy Turlington and Doutzen Kroes.

"We are writing today to express our concern for the safety and wellbeing of the models and young women who aspire to model for Victoria's Secret," said the letter, which was addressed to the CEO of Victoria's Secret lingerie, John Mehas.

"In the past few weeks, we have heard numerous allegations of sexual assault, alleged rape, and sex trafficking of models and aspiring models. While these allegations may not have been aimed at Victoria's Secret directly, it is clear that your company has a crucial role to play in remedying the situation.

"From the headlines about L Brands CEO Leslie Wexner's close friend and associate, Jeffrey Epstein, to the allegations of sexual misconduct by photographers Timur Emek, David Bellemere, and Greg Kadel, it is deeply disturbing that these men appear to have leveraged their working relationships with Victoria's Secret to lure and abuse vulnerable girls."

A spokesperson for L Brands did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. But according to Model Alliance board member Agatha Schmaedick Tan, the two parties have been in conversations for several months about signing the "Respect" program, Business of Fashion reported.

If Victoria's Secret were to sign on to "Respect," it would be required to make any of its employees or contractors follow a certain code of conduct.

Not all models seem to be in agreement with this, however. Portuguese supermodel Sara Sampaio, who is currently a Victoria's Secret Angel and has walked several runway shows, disagreed with the brand being called out by Model Alliance.

"Most of the sexual harassment happens before the photo shoots to models that have never worked with vs [Victoria's Secret] by people pretending they work for companies they don't work [at]!... If you actually want to protect models against sexual harassment go after the agents and agencies! Cause they are the main reason models get harassed!!!" she wrote on Instagram .

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