Thanks to the #METOO movement, women continue to come forward and speak out against sexual harassment in top industries, including film and fashion. But it isn’t just victims coming forward. Many top figures in both industries are joining the movement in solidarity with these women. But that’s not the case with Chanel’s creative director, Karl Lagerfeld.
In an interview with Numéro magazine, Lagerfeld said, “I’m fed up with it.” He continued by saying, “What shocks me most in all of this are the starlets who have taken 20 years to remember what happened. Not to mention the fact there are no prosecution witnesses.”
However, he did make it clear that he’s no sympathizer with Harvey Weinstein, a Hollywood mogul who is now disgraced due to a long history of sexually harassing and abusing women.
Even though Lagerfeld has a personal dislike for Weinstein, his comments about #MeToo and #TimesUp don’t really distance him very far from this fallen Hollywood producer.
When asked if these two movements have affected the way Lagerfeld approaches work, his answer was clear and concise: “Absolutely not.”
To drive his answer home, Lagerfeld recounted what happened to creative director of Interview magazine, Karl Templar. An unnamed model “complained he tried to pull her pants down and he is instantly excommunicated from a profession that up until then had venerated him. It’s unbelievable. If you don’t want your pants pulled about, don’t become a model.”
So, where should these self-respecting women go? Lagerfeld advised women who want to avoid sexual harassment to “Join a nunnery, there’ll always be a place for you in the convent.”