Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries yesterday addressed criticism regarding controversial comments he made during a 2006 interview that have resurfaced and gone viral over the past week.
At issue is an interview that Jeffries, 68, had with Salon magazine in 2006 in which he described Abercrombie's market.
"In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids," Jeffries said in the article. "We go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don't belong (in our clothes), and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely."
In a statement posted to the company's Facebook page, Jeffries says:
"I want to address some of my comments that have been circulating from a 2006 interview. While I believe this 7 year old, resurrected quote has been taken out of context, I sincerely regret that my choice of words was interpreted in a manner that has caused offense. A&F is an aspirational brand that, like most specialty apparel brands, targets its marketing at a particular segment of customers. However, we care about the broader communities in which we operate and are strongly committed to diversity and inclusion. We hire good people who share these values. We are completely opposed to any discrimination, bullying, derogatory characterizations or other anti-social behavior based on race, gender, body type or other individual characteristics."
Since the interview has resurfaced, a petition popped up on Change.org last week to pressure the company to change that policy. Then a Huffington Post blogger posted an open letter to Jeffries. A YouTube video appeared this week in which a man distributed the company's clothes to homeless people on Los Angeles' skid row.
Cali Linstron, a 17-year-old girl who is featured in the upcoming documentary "America the Beautiful 3," dealing with the sexualization of America's youth, plans to join other teenagers in a protest at 1 p.m. Monday at Abercrombie & Fitch's corporate headquarters in New Albany and later at the A&F store in Easton Town Center.
"Our problem with this is the bullying and discrimination that's happening. ... (Jeffries') statements are what fuels bullying," Linstron said in a statement. "... We aren't asking Abercrombie & Fitch to add plus sizes; we're asking Mike Jeffries to apologize or retract his statements."
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