Jeffrey Epstein confidant, alleged facilitator of sexual assault, and Victoria’s Secret CEO Leslie Wexner may finally step down from his position, The Wall Street Journal reports. After leading the brand for 57 years, Wexner’s departure could mean a partial sale of Victoria’s Secret, of which the billionaire holds a 17% stake.
In recent years, Victoria’s Secret has struggled to keep up with basic consumer demands, like size inclusivity and comfortable bras people actually want to wear. (Seems to me hashtag-empowerment would’ve been an easy pivot for them, but then again, only dudes seem to work on the company’s board.) In 2019, the company canceled its infamous Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show due to troubling sales quarters and perhaps public criticism, but who really knows. Few women in leadership positions work at the brand; the company came under fire for stealing the intellectual property of an indie lingerie designer, and let’s not forget its storied history of transphobia and fatphobia. Beyond Victoria’s Secret’s inability to meet us all in the modern era are the allegations leveled against Wexner: his buddy Jeffrey Epstein was accused of holding a victim against her will at his compound. Speaking of Epstein, he and Wexner were reportedly very close—at one point, he signed over almost total control of his finances to the convicted child rapist thus becoming the source of most of Epstein’s wealth—before attempting to distance himself from his pal once he was imprisoned and news of his sex trafficking ring broke.
The conspiracy theorist in me believes there must be some egregious crime just below the surface causing Wexner to resign now, after everything, but only time will tell. Until then: good riddance.