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On Monday evening, U.S. time, Alexander Wang published a statement to his personal Instagram page recognising the sexual assault allegations against him, “regretting” the pain it caused his victims.
“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,” the statement read. “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,” it continued. “Life is about learning and growth, and now that I know better, I will do better.”
In nearly the same breath, civil-rights attorney Lisa Bloom published a statement to Twitter on behalf of her 11 clients who have accused the designer of misconduct, saying they are “moving on” from the 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,” Bloom said in her tweet. “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.
We acknowledge Mr. Wang’s apology and we are moving forward.
We have no further comment on this matter.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) March 9, 2021
In December 2020, model Owen Mooney took to social media to recount how he was allegedly groped by the American designer in a New York City club in 2017. The post brought several rumours and allegations of sexual harassment against Wang into the spotlight, with the Instagram video posted by Mooney prompting more people to come forward with claims.
At the time, silence from the fashion house was widely criticised. As reported by WWD, the Model Alliance posted a message in solidarity with the victims saying, “Let’s be clear: The fashion industry’s lack of transparency and accountability leaves all models vulnerable to abuse, regardless of their sex or gender identity.”
On January 5, Wang posted to his personal social media accounts and called the allegations “false”, “fabricated” and “baseless”.
In just over eight weeks what was tipped to be a massive lawsuit has quietly disappeared. Although, if Instagram fashion takedown account, Diet Prada, has anything to do with it, this isn’t the last we will hear of the scandal.
