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Kate Upton Rips Victoria’s Secret for not being ‘body inclusive’ in Andy Cohen interview

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Updated on July 6, 2023

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Model Kate Upton has slammed lingerie company Victoria’s Secret, calling it a “snooze fest” for failing to be “body inclusive.”

Upton appeared on “Watch What Happens Live” with Andy Cohen on Sunday, with 50 Cent, and was asked, “What was your reaction to the rumors that Victoria’s Secret may not have a fashion show this year?”

Cohen inquired if Upton had worked with the lingerie firm, which has lately been in the spotlight owing to links between its parent company’s creator (L Brands’ Les Wexner) and the late Jeffrey Epstein, who was jailed on sex trafficking charges in July. Ed Razek, L Brands’ chief marketing officer, resigned this month after saying last year that plus-size or transgender models had no place in Victoria’s Secret fashion shows “because the show is a fantasy.”

Upton noted that she “did work” with Victoria’s Secret earlier, since she appeared in a catalogue for the company in 2013, but she told Cohen that VS had made no attempt to be more inclusive. “You know what? We’re sick of seeing the same body type. You have to be body inclusive now. Every woman needs to be represented otherwise it’s a snooze fest.”

During an interview with Australia’s The Daily Telegraph in July, model Shanina Shaik revealed that the annual lingerie show had been canceled. “Unfortunately the Victoria’s Secret show won’t be happening this year,” she dished. “It’s something I’m not used to because every year around this time I’m training like an angel. But I’m sure in the future something will happen, which I’m pretty sure about.”

Victoria’s Secret fashion show model Georgia Fowler also commented on the cancellation, telling The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month, “I mean, we’ve always had so much fun doing it, so it’s a shame, but we’ll see what happens.” According to THR, the event averaged a “limp” 0.9 rating among adults 18-49 in 2018, with just 3.3 million total viewers.

VS has not provided an explanation for what they want to do next, but they have clearly not met with influential models such as Upton.

Upton went on to have a successful modeling career, having appeared on the covers of magazines like as Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, and Sports Illustrated. Maxim named her the Hottest Woman of 2018.

This month, 100 models and Time’s Up co-signed a petition demanding Victoria’s Secret to join the model-led anti-abuse initiative RESPECT in order to combat sexual harassment. “We are always concerned about the welfare of our models and want to continue to have dialogue with the Model Alliance and others to accomplish meaningful progress in the industry,” a Victoria’s Secret spokeswoman said at the time. Valentina Sampaio, the label’s first transgender model, was hired in August.

Karlie Kloss, a former Victoria’s Secret Angel, also told Vogue in July that she had ended her relationship with the brand, saying, “I decided to stop working with Victoria’s Secret as I didn’t feel it was an image that was truly reflective of who I am and the kind of message I want to send to young women around the world about what it means to be beautiful.”