Move over, Harvey Weinstein

In truth, I didn't pay a ton of attention to the Harvey Weinstein saga.

Of course, I knew the story at the highest level, and recognized some of the big names Weinstein, a major movie producer, exploited. And I'm glad he's met his comeuppance, and will likely spend the remainder of his loathsome life in prison. Good riddance!

I've also been aware since, like, forever, that there was such a thing as the casting room couch, and that many young aspiring actresses have slept their way, if not to the top, then at least into a role or two. (I can't be the only one who remembers the jokes about Nancy Reagan that included references to both Grade-B movies and blowjobs.) 

Not that Hollywood was the only industry where young women were pressured to provide sex in exchange for opportunity. I can't say it was exactly prevalent in the places I worked in the boring, unglamorous world of technology. Although I certainly had colleagues who were pressured by senior execs. One woman I was friendly with was hit on by the company president at the annual holiday party. N (very pretty and a fabulous dancer) was on the dance floor with C - widely regarded as a cad and an ahole - when C, presuming on his allure (not!) said to her "if I weren't the president of the company, you'd sleep with me." N reported back to me that her response was, "if you weren't the president of the company, I wouldn't be dancing with you." C was also rumored to have hired a woman who was selling office furniture for our new digs and given her what was a coveted position on the strategy team. Hmmmm.

And I do not know many/any woman who hasn't had a "Me, Too" moment - whether presonal or professional - in her life.

One of the things I admire about the younger women in the workforce is that they will not put up with the casual and not-so-casual sexism and harassment that my generation did. 

And overall, I've mostly thought about harassment and exploitation as being a women's issue. 

Apparently not, as I came to realize when I read about Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, a now 80-year-old scuzzbucket who was recently, alongside his partner Matthew Smith, arrested on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges.

A federal indictment alleges Jeffries — along with Smith, his romantic partner, and [JamesJacobson], who was described as a recruiter — operated an "international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015.

It alleges that they organized “sex events” in England, France, Italy, Morocco, St. Barts and New York for Jeffries, Smith and “others.” They “employed coercive, fraudulent and deceptive tactics in connection with the recruitment, hiring, transportation, obtaining, maintaining, solicitation and payment of the men to engage in commercial sex.”

The men who attended the events allegedly were led to believe that it could lead to modeling opportunities or help their careers or “that not complying with requests for certain acts during the Sex Events could harm their careers.” (Source: NBC News)

Yuck. Ugh. Disgusting. All these poor young men, hoping to mae it in modeling or fashion, perhaps hoping to meet an older Mr. Right, maybe just hoping to go on a pricey trip to some splosh place, preyed upon by these bastards.

 The men had to sign NDA's. When they got to St. Bart's or wherever, they had to give over their wallets and phones, so they were pretty much trapped. The trio also had a number of staff members whose job was to make sure the sex events - build as "tryouts," by the way - went off without a hitch.

There were, of course, plenty of beautiful young men for Jeffries to pick and choose from. Male models? Young, beautiful, and often gay? Michael Jeffries, like Harvey Weinstein, was an aging, not particularly attractive creep. But an aging, not particularly attractive creep with access to all sorts of gorgeous young men." (Abercrombie's brand, in particular, was known for wanting beautiful people in their ads and working in their stores.)

The staff provided Jeffries, Smith and the men who attended alcohol, muscle relaxants known as "poppers," lubricant, Viagra, and condoms among other items. Either Jacobson or the staff paid the men for attending the sex events, the indictment said.

All very Jeffrey Epstein, that's for sure.

Look, I may think that modeling is a pretty dumb ass profession. And I may - at least on occasion - have asked myself what did these fellows expect when they jetted off to St. Bart's for a tryout? (As I asked the same question about the young women who willingingly knocked on Harvey Weinstein's door at some fancy Beverly Hills hotel.) 

Sure, maybe they should have known better. But they were all young, ambitious, and wanting to get ahead in an industry where sex sells - and buys. So they got on the plane, knocked on the door, hoping against hope that the guy making it possible was just trying to be a good guy. But ain't none of them signed up to be doped up and violently raped. 

Hope Jeffries and company get what they deserve. And that's not high end booze, poppers, and free-reign sex in luxury venues, with young guys who just wanted to impress the big guy and get a job.