#MeToo

Hi All!

Fashion Week is underway in Paris and journalist Philippe Berry has recently published a timely article for the French publication 20 Minutes in which I was interviewed as a result of my personal accounts of tales of sexual misconduct from when I was not only a model but also the Vice President of Elite Chicago during the mid 1980s.

The article outlines statements made by 4 former models alongside myself, as we recount events pointing to signs of an abusive modeling culture of the 1980s. Many of these themes still ring true in present day as more accounts of sexual misconduct surface as a result of cases including but not limited to predators Jeffrey Epstein and Jean-Luc Brunel.

The article was published in French, so I’ve summarized the article in English below because these stories are too important not to share! 

(Photos of Lisa Gattis via 20 Minutes)

Journalist Philippe Berry opens the article with former fashion model Lisa Gattis whose story dates back to 1980 in Paris when she was 18 years old. She recounts going to live at the personal home of her then employer Claude Haddad along with other young models. Her career appeared to take off, and she landed the cover of Elle magazine.Soon she was invited to a party of Haddad in Ibiza, Spain by her boss. During the night, the agent entered her room during the night while she pretended to sleep and he whispered to her, “ You’re only nice when you sleep.”

Gattis was not alone in experiencing this sort of encounter during that stay. The event repeated the following evening, and she was caught off guard with another model as Haddad fully exposed himself to them and urged them to join him in the pool. In nervous laughter, they forewent the invitation and soon the consequences of their denial was revealed. Gattis explains that the following day, their things were on the stairs and that appeared to be the end of their professional contracts. Eventually she returned to The United States.

(Photos of Lisa Kauffman via 20 Minutes)

Berry also outlines a conversation with former Canadian model Lisa Kauffman who, like Gattis, worked for Claude Haddad in the early 1980s. Initially, she recalls that Haddad’s girlfriend lived with them and things were alright. But then the advances ensued. Much like the story of Gattis, Haddad made his way into her room, and rubbed himself against her. Frozen in fear, she continued to pretend to sleep. 

Kauffman was underage, a tender 17, at the time, and Haddad was 48. On a positive note, she was able to make an escape and leave the agency to follow her booker to an all female owned agency shortly following these events. She recalls to Berry the irony that at one point, Haddad had even warned her against Jean-Luc Brunel who had a reputation that preceded him. However these men seemed to underestimate her. She understood enough French to interpret what they were scheming at dinners and parties while the young girls were being fed booze. She would hear what they said and was able to hold some power by replying to them,” Va te faire foutre,” which translates to, “kiss my ass”.“

When Berry inquires why the girls did not speak up at the time, Kauffman explains that they feared that retaliation would come at the expense of their careers. She explains further that most of them didn’t have long term paperwork to work in these foreign countries. She asks Berry to consider, “Can you imagine being 17 or 18 in a foreign country, and going to unfamiliar police to report as situation?” 

These sentiments are shared with many others. Slowly but surely, since then, victims of abuse have been surfacing and sharing their experiences. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

In 1988, CBS aired a 60 Minutes broadcast bringing to light the doings of Claude Haddad. Several girls, including minors, came forward about sexual misconduct on the part of Haddad. Even though Diane Sawyer presented testimonies saying things like, “He almost raped me”, and, “You had to sleep with him to work”. Haddad tip-toed around the topic and ultimately blamed any misconduct on the women. 

He stated to Diane Sawyer,"When a French girl plays with her body, she knows that she can have problems with men.” Photographer Alé de Basseville even states to Berry for 20 Minutes that several models had admitted to him that they had indeed been raped by Haddad. 

The 60 Minutes episode also shined light on Jean-Luc Brunel, who led Karin Models at the time. Here, models went on to talk about the culture of famous dinners hosted by primarily rich, older men and were akin to something like that of a “cattle market”. Sex on the part of the girls was encourgaed to continue working, and if there was resistence, it led to being blacklisted. This happened to former model Zoe Brock as she revealed when talking to 20 Minutes. 

Following the coverage on 60 Minutes, Haddad’s career folded, but it wasn’t enough to stop Brunel, whose career carried on in The United States. Since Jeffrey Epstein was exposed for trafficking and having sex with young girls in July 2019, two models have since come forth and admitted to having been raped by Brunel. 

(Left, Myself, photo by Michael Pawlowski and right, photo by Sonia Roselli via 20 Minutes ) 

In the article with Berry, I concurred with photographer Alé de Basseville that it is, in fact, true that “everyone knew”.

I was the Vice President of Elite Chicago during the mid 1980s and can attest to the fact that it was the culture during the time and everyone seemed to have an awareness about what was going on. For me, and the others that wanted to stop this cyclical abuse, it was most important to warn the girls. 

I work now coaching the young models, advocating integrity and courage as cornerstones of a career. It saddens me to think of a particular instance in the past with a model during the early 1980s that was to set off the Paris for her career. I urged her to resist the pressure that she would no doubt experience in that environment. I explained to Berry that I warned her against Gérald Marie (then boss of Elite Paris ). Shortly after arriving, the model called me in tears. She explained that Marie tried intimidating her to sleep with him, otherwise she “wouldn’t get a blanket”. I urged her over and over to resist the blackmail.

Ultimately, she was on the cover of a woman’s magazine a couple of months later. She wasn’t booking anything, and so she finally gave into the pressure, and it clearly yielded results. 

Sadly, this isn’t a completely unique story. She was an adult and made her decision, but like I told Berry---it broke my heart. 

I was a working model myself and had my own experiences in this abusive realm unfortunately. It was before movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp. I, like so many others, lived in shock and fear, unsure of who to turn to, and how it would affect my career. One particular encounter was when I was in Rome working for photographer Stan Milanowski on a shoot for Bazaar Italia. At one point, I found myself alone with the head honcho, Giuseppe "Peppone" Della Schiava and his assistant. His assistant made a pass at me and told me we were “going to have a good time”. In a panic I got up to leave and was pushed up against the wall and told that if I didn’t comply, that my employer, Stan, was not going to work again. 

I didn’t know where to turn and was terrified for the career of my boss, so I kept my mouth shut. I had the typical attitude of a victim. I told myself it was my fault and that I shouldn’t have dressed in a sexy fashion. It took me a while to realize I was dealing with predators.

As communicated in the article, it was a different time but I still regret not having the courage to denounce the sexual excesses of our environment.

It was in Ibiza in the late 1980s where I reached my breaking point and resigned. There was a particularly vivid incident where Lisa Herzog and Trudi Tapscott were in tears begging John Casablancas, the boss of Elite at the time, and Gérald Marie to stop sleeping with minors.

They responded by saying, “we are men, we have our needs.”

Following this event I contributed to an article that was published in New York Magazine by reporter Michael Gross who had already published stories revealing the dark, mostly secret sides of the industry. Casablancas even admitted that the story held up, however he commented that there was a difference in the culture, and claims that the girls he had affairs with were all consenting. In Ibiza, the consenting age was 15, whereas in the United States it was, and still is, 18. 

(Photos of Ebba Karlsson via 20 Minutes)

Berry goes on to write about Swedish model Ebba Karlsson, who in the early 90s was faced with her own obstacles. She was personally invited to C?te d'Azur for castings where she found herself alone with him and was “forced” into relations with him. She confirmed with 20 Minutes, “ I didn’t fight because I was afraid, but it was rape.” Who were these encounters with? None other than Gérald Marie.

At the time, Ebba didn’t have money to return home to Sweden so she carried on with castings. She goes on in the article to talk about arriving to Marie’s office in Paris to find him closing the blinds and asking her if she knew what everyone else did to become famous. It was then that she found herself mortified as he slid his hand under her skirt. 

Following the event, she found herself at his home, where other models were living and they were doing “castings” and had to parade themselves around in only their underwear and heels while exposing their breasts. Karlsson says men were there rating the girls like cows. She returned to Sweden, where she had a boyfriend, who confirmed with 20 Minutes that she had signs of experiencing trauma following these scandalous events. 

Berry goes on to reveal that Gérald Marie was finally outed publicly after the BBC filmed him secretly for several months. The feature showed how the agency exploited their young models very notably through Milan’s nightclub promoters. Gérald Marie was suspended from the agency after he was caught on camera offering money to have sex with a young woman. Even so, he denied these accounts. 

Despite it all, he managed to keep his position until 2011. He then moved on to another agency.

The article wraps up by stating that we aren’t much safer today. 

However, we are fostering an environment where we are encouraging people to come forth when they find themselves victims of sexual misconduct and abuse. The language is changing and evolving and thanks to movements like #MeToo, it is easier to join the conversation, raise awareness, and warn industry professionals, especially the young ones, about what to look out for and how to handle it if something should arise. 

It appears the industry is still reluctant to do a complete overhaul, but the initial steps are being taken in the right direction and will gain momentum, and I have dedicated my life to be a part of this essential change. 

For a link to the original French article for 20 minutes by Philippe Berry, visit here.