This article references sexual violence.
On Monday, 2 October, BBC Panorama reported on the sexual assault allegations against Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) and his partner, Matthew Smith. The pair are now facing a potential sex trafficking investigation after they were accused of exploiting young men for sex.
The documentary is a harrowing watch, but one which successfully raises awareness of sexual violence against men. Throughout the episode, it illustrates how hard it is for survivors to speak out, and how men are often disbelieved as victims of sexual assault.
Using a middleman, Jeffries and Smith are said to have found young men and coerced them into attending sex events the couple hosted during the 1990s and 2000s. The BBC identified the middleman as James Jacobson. Eight men told the BBC they had attended these events, some of whom alleged they were exploited or sexually abused.
“He was selling fame. And the price was compliance.”
As part of an investigation spanning nearly three years, the BBC spoke to 12 men who described attending or organising events involving sex acts run for Jeffries and Smith between 2009 and 2015.
Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith did not respond to the investigation’s requests for comment, but Jacobson did, saying that everyone he came into contact with attended these events “with their eyes wide open”. In a statement issued through his lawyer, he took offence at the accusation of “any coercive, deceptive or forceful behaviour on my part” and had “no knowledge of any such conduct by others”.
One of the men who came forward for the documentary, given the pseudonym Alex to protect his identity, described being assaulted in Marrakesh at one of these events: “I believe there is a very good possibility I was drugged and raped. I’ll probably never, never know for sure the answer of what happened.”
Barrett Pall, another victim who spoke out, said, “This experience, I think it broke me. I think that this stole any ounce of innocence that I had left. It mentally messed me up. But with the language I now have today, I can sit here and tell you that I was taken advantage of.”