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Italian PM Giorgia Meloni splits from partner after lewd TV comments
By Alvise Armellini and Angelo Amante Reuters
Posted October 20, 2023 6:39 am
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (L) has separated from her partner,
TV journalist Andrea Giambruno (R). Getty Images
I guess when you look like that you need neither a brain, nor a moral compass, to be a TV presenter.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday she had separated from her television journalist partner Andrea Giambruno, who has drawn criticism in recent weeks for sexist comments.
Meloni told reporters last month she should not be judged over Giambruno’s remarks and in future would not answer questions about his behaviour.
The split comes as the 46-year-old prime minister celebrates her first year in office at the head of a right-wing coalition government that has defended the traditional family as one of its policy hallmarks.
“My relationship with Andrea Giambruno, which lasted almost 10 years, ends here,” Meloni wrote on her social media accounts. “Our paths have diverged for some time, and the time has come to acknowledge it,” she added.
Meloni said she would not be distracted by difficulties in her private life, saying, “all those who hoped to weaken me by striking me at home,” would have no success.
The couple, who met in a TV studio in 2014, have a seven-year-old daughter.
Giambruno, 42, is the presenter of a news program transmitted by Mediaset, part of the MFE media group owned by the heirs of the late Silvio Berlusconi, a former prime minister and Meloni ally.
This week, another Mediaset satirical current affairs television show broadcast off-air video excerpts from Giambruno’s programme showing him using foul language, touching his groin and appearing to make advances to a female colleague.
“Why didn’t I meet you before?” he asks her.
In a second audio recording aired on Thursday, Giambruno is heard talking about being in an affair and telling female colleagues they can work with him if they take part in group sex.
The TV journalist had been widely criticized in August for comments interpreted by many as victim-blaming, following a gang rape case.
Giambruno was not immediately available for comment.
Marco Furfaro of the opposition Democratic Party said Giambruno’s comments were “pure chauvinism and sexism…. uncommentable filth.”
Abercrombie & Fitch sued over ex-CEO’s alleged sex abuse of models,
sex trafficking
By Ariel Zilber, NYPost
Published Oct. 27, 2023, 4:31 p.m. ET
A former Abercrombie & Fitch model who alleged that he was forced to perform oral sex in order to land a modeling gig with the fashion brand is suing the mall-based teen retailer.
David Bradberry filed suit in Manhattan federal court on Friday against Abercrombie, accusing it of enabling former CEO Mike Jeffries to run a sex trafficking operation that is said to have exploited and abused dozens of young men.
News of the lawsuit, which is seeking unspecified damages, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Jeffries, who built Abercrombie into a global brand during his tenure as CEO from 1992 until 2014, is alleged to have promised young men a job at the firm in order to lure them to secret locations around the world and then force them to have sex with him and others, it was alleged in the lawsuit.
The legal action comes in the wake of a damning BBC documentary in which several young men, including Bradberry, came forward with allegations against Jeffries and the company.
“Abercrombie profited enormously from the oversexualized exploitation of young men,” Brad Edwards, Bradberry’s attorney who also represented alleged victims of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, told The Journal.
Unfortunately, Edwards doesn't explain how A&F actually profitted from the oversexualized exploitation of young men. I presume it is by having half naked men in the storefronts.
David Bradberry filed suit in Manhattan federal court on Friday against Abercrombie.
BBC
Edwards said that Abercrombie displayed a “willingness to enable a sexually abusive and exploitative environment to drive profits.”
Abercrombie has declined to comment on the lawsuit, which names Jeffries, his family office, and his former partner Matthew Smith as co-defendants.
“Mr. Jeffries will not comment in the press on this new lawsuit as he has likewise chosen not to regarding lawsuits in the past,” Brian Bieber, Jeffries’ lawyer, told The Journal.
“The courtroom is where we will deal with this matter.”
Abercrombie is accused of enabling former CEO Mike Jeffries to run an alleged sex trafficking operation that is said to have exploited and abused dozens of young men.
AP
Over the course of its two-year probe, the BBC spoke to eight men who alleged that they were exploited or abused after being lured to events at Jeffries’ upscale New York residence or luxury hotels in the world’s fashion capitals.
The BBC described the exploitative regime as a “well-oiled machine” where “recruiters” were allegedly tasked with bringing young men to Jeffries’ events in London, Paris, Venice and Marrakesh and would receive as much as $1,000 per referral.
A personal “groomer” then allegedly shaved the body hair off some of the men before they attended the events, according to the BBC.
Barrett Paul, a former Abercrombie model, spoke to the BBC and alleged he was victimized by Jeffries and his partner.
BBC
Men were then required to sign non-disclosure agreements that said they would be sued if they spoke out. They were not allowed to keep a copy of the legal document.
The young men alleged they were recruited to the sex events by a middleman who reported to Jeffries and his British lover, Smith, with half claiming they were misled about the nature of these events.
Other alleged victims knew the events were sexual but were unsure what was expected of them, though all were paid to attend and hopeful that by doing so, they would land a modeling opportunity with Abercrombie & Fitch, according to BBC.
Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie from 1992 until 2014.
The Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETWORK
This middleman — whom the BBC identified as Jim Jacobson — was described by modeling agents as the gatekeeper to “the owners” of A&F during the teen retailer’s heyday in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
“Jim made it clear to me that unless I let him perform oral sex on me, that I would not be meeting with A&F or Mike Jeffries,” Bradberry told BBC.
Good grief! Was everybody at Abercrombie and Fitch gay?
AFP via Getty Images
“I was paralyzed. It was like he was selling fame. And the price was compliance,” he said, noting that Jacobson led him to believe “this is where everybody gets their start.”
Bradberry was given $500 for his time that day, according to BBC.
On another occasion, Bradberry said he had sex with Jeffries inside his mansion after the then-CEO took drug inhalants.
Bradberry alleged he “didn’t feel safe to say ‘no’ or ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this’” because of the home’s “secluded” location and presence of Jeffries’ staff — who all dressed in a uniform of head-to-toe A&F and would hand alleged victims envelopes with thousands of dollars of cash before they left, per the BBC.
The Post has sought comment from Smith.
Jeffries built Abercrombie into a global brand before resigning amid scandal.
Getty Images
A spokesperson for A&F told The Post: “We are appalled and disgusted by the behavior described in the allegations against Mr. Jeffries, whose employment with Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ended in 2014, nearly ten years ago.
Speaking up and coming forward is not easy, and our thoughts are with those who bravely raised their voices.”
The spokesperson said the company has also “engaged an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the issues raised.
The company’s current executive leadership team and board of directors were not aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct by Mr. Jeffries.”
“We have zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind.”
Abercrombie and Fitch boys
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