Alexander Wang has returned to the runway after a slew of allegations against him in 2019/20. Many are not happy about his comeback and are calling for his blood.
In order to understand what is going on, it is important to look into what fashion designer Alexander Wang has been accused of. Almost all the allegations relate to some form of sexual misconduct, and detractors are saying that where there is smoke, there is fire. That being said, none of the 11 accusers are taking Wang to court so it has fallen to the court of public opinion to decide his fate.
The Allegations
The best and clearest information has come from the BBC who have broken it all down very nicely. We won’t go through all 11 people accused as many of them repeat similar stories as you will see for yourself shortly. Just be warned that there may be some distressing content ahead, but you didn’t click on this article for us to tip toe around the allegations.
Let’s start with Keaton Bullen, 21, a student at New York’s Parsons School of Design. Bullen has claimed that Wang assaulted him at the Fishbowl club in New York in August 2019. During the early hours of the morning, as Bullen stated,
“All of a sudden, he unzipped my trousers, put his hands in my pants and started grabbing my penis in front of a bunch of people. I completely froze. He then said: ‘I want to take you home with me.’ I felt weirded out… and removed myself from the situation.”
In this particular case, Wang had originally denied the allegations while waiting for CCTV footage from the club that night that his lawyer, Paul Tweed, says “believes will totally disprove this allegation.” We’ll get into the recent response later on.
Next up was the first man to come forward against Wang, British model Owen Moody, 26. Moody claimed that Wang groped during a concert at a New York club way back in January 2017. Moody took to TikTok to explain his story,
I was by myself at one point and this guy next to me obviously took advantage of the fact that no one could move. And he just started touching me up. Fully up my leg, in my crotch. It made me freeze completely because I was in so much shock.”
Wang also denied this allegation as his lawyer stated “it never happened” and that he “believes Mooney is mistaken about who allegedly groped him.”
DJ Gia Garrison, 24, said she was suffered a similar fate in the VIP area at Club Snake in New York in February 2017. For context you need to know that she was wearing a big red coat over bikini bottoms and thigh-high boots. She told the BBC,
“I was dancing near him when he reached out his hand, grabbed my bikini bottoms and dragged it downward in front of everyone. As a trans woman with discomfort about certain parts of myself that I’ve since grown to love, I don’t want someone to expose my entire body like that.”
Again, Wang denied this with his lawyer stating that he “has never grabbed any woman” that way.
Other alleged victims of Wang include construction worker, Nick Ward, 28, who said that Wang grabbed his crotch at the Brooklyn Mirage club on 10 September 2017. Wang’s lawyer said he was at a fashion show until 3am that night and had proof that he was not at the club that night.
There was also David Casavant, 30, who told The New York Times that at the Brooklyn club, the Good Room, Wang approached him and pulled down his pants and underwear. Casavant believed Wang wanted to “humiliate” him and accused Wang further of trying to undress him on another occasion at a club.
In a letter to The Times, Eric M. George, one of Wang’s lawyers, called Casavant’s allegations “preposterous” and had just been “copied” from Mooney’s statements.
Alexander Wang's Response
Initially, as we saw, Alexander Wang denied everything. He called the allegations “baseless and grotesquely false.” However, Lisa Bloom, the lawyer representing 11 of the accusers, went to Twitter to say that they had “met with Alexander Wang and his team. My clients had the opportunity to speak their truth to him and expressed their pain and hurt. We acknowledge Mr. Wang’s apology and we are moving forward. We have no further comment on this matter.”
We have met with Alexander Wang and his team. My clients had the opportunity to speak their truth to him and expressed their pain and hurt.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) March 9, 2021
We acknowledge Mr. Wang’s apology and we are moving forward.
We have no further comment on this matter.
After the meeting, Wang took to Instagram to make statement,
“A number of individuals have come forward recently to raise claims against me regarding my past personal behaviour. I support their right to come forward, and I’ve listened carefully to what they had to say. It was not easy for them to share their stories, and I regret acting in a way that caused them pain. While we disagree on some of the details of these personal interactions, I will set a better example and use my visibility and influence to encourage others to recognise harmful behaviours. Life is about learning and growth, and now that I know better, I will do better.”
We have no details about what happened behind closed doors. We don’t know whether or not the charges were dropped, whether there were any formal charges against Wang to begin with, or whether the matter was settled out of court. No further comment has been made by either party since these statements.
The Comeback Show
The actual comeback show for Alexander Wang was completely overshadowed by the allegations and Wang’s apparent gall to return to the runway. Fans were not pleased and were eager to see which celebrities actually showed up. On the Alexander Wang Instagram, pictures shared of the event were marred by comments surrounding the allegations and many users wanted a guest list so they knew which celebrities to boycott. As one user, @lisakickme, said “Thanks for showing us who support the abusive behaviour so we can stop supporting them in return 😍.”
The list of notable celebrities present include: Kimora Lee Simons, rapper Bia, DJ Peggy Gou, Chloe Cherry (Euphoria), Lisa Rinna (Real Housewives), rapper Gunna, Erika Girardi, and Tiktoker Noah Beck.
What is more interesting is the notable absence of a few key celebrities including Wang’s recent campaign stars Lucy Liu and Rihanna. Perhaps even spicier is that members of his former inner circle including Bella Hadid, Zoe Kravitz, and Kendall Jenner were all missing.
The reception on social media has been largely negative. On Alexander Wang’s own Instagram comments were largely negative. One user, @kevingro_, said “We haven’t forgot 🗑.” This kind of comment came up consistently and without remorse often paired with either the 🗑 emoji or 🍅 emoji.
Unofficial fashion watchdog, diet_prada, called out the event and their comment section followed suit. User @themauriciomacias said, “Not to be shady, but if you’re going to make a comeback after a flood of sexual harassment allegations… at least make it with a decent collection. The clothes were giving ‘5 Minute Craft DIY fails’ and idk if it’s a metaphor of him showing how he doesn’t give a single f-.”
There were several people comparing the collection to miu miu, and not in the most favourable light. User @linmick jokingly asked, “Omg is that the shein miu miu skirt ? 😍”
So this show has been interesting to say the least. It was simultaneously a success and a failure, but the comeback certainly didn’t go as planned. How Alexander Wang will continue in the future will remain to be seen as the allegations don’t seem to be going away anytime soon.
Some users even thought, much to the chagrin of many other users, that he should have his say in court before we judge him, as user @sarafinapadilla said, “I love this page, but at least let him have his say in court sheeesh!” Many rebutted her argument saying that victims of sexual assault often struggle to come forward with their allegations and then when they do it’s a struggle to be taken seriously or even believed.
What do you think? Should Alexander Wang’s career be over, or should we follow suit with the accusers and accept his apology?
For more, check out our discussion on whether the suit is dead, dying, or just figuring itself out.
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