Less than a day after Victoria’s Secret drew criticism for airing footage of model Ming Xi falling on the runway and then crying backstage at the fashion show, some of its models are catching heat themselves.
Backstage footage surfaced online last night showing several models saying the N-word before the show.
Pop Crave, an entertainment news Twitter account, posted a video showing the models and members of the production crew gearing up for the annually televised show. As crew members dance around the room, the camera pans around on the models, the majority of whom are white, singing along to Cardi B’s popular summer hit “Bodak Yellow.” The N-word can be heard right before the lyrics “Don’t get comfortable.”
The Victoria's Secret angels singing Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" backstage. https://t.co/gGFbNBnQLI
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 29, 2017
Users were quick to call the models out, with some even suggesting the fashion retailer fire the models.
https://twitter.com/dinahthedon/status/935739009409671169
I hear “nigga” and I don’t see any black models. https://t.co/PL5j5adBcW
— rva’s hunni 🍯 (@trapcry) November 29, 2017
Hearing these "niggas" but not seeing no niggas pic.twitter.com/xYPAMb0djE
— eros (@bbycalypso) November 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/laurmanisman/status/935741741302472705
Welp @VictoriasSecret plz fire all of them for saying the n-word all carefree. #thanks https://t.co/SjJ7r63ED1
— Jasmyn (@JasmynBeKnowing) November 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/_youngTenderoni/status/935912667641937920
Victoria’s Secret has not responded to the video.
It’s been a rough year for the company’s annual fashion event, which was held in Shanghai. Four models were denied work visas by China, thus barred from walking in the show, and neither Gigi Hadid nor Taylor Swift showed up.
Earlier this year, Hadid came under fire after a video surfaced online of the model squinting her eyes while holding a cookie shaped like Buddha.
Victoria’s Secret has long been plagued by accusations of cultural appropriation and increasing criticism about the lack of body diversity in its models. If this backstage video incident isn’t handled right, it could be another strike against a company with waning relevancy amongst millennials.