Alan Ritchson, who went from modeling for Abercrombie to starring in films like Fast X, says sexual misconduct and assault is rife in the modeling industry. “Let’s be honest, it’s like legalized sex trafficking,†he told The Hollywood Reporter. “The industry is not regulated, and it’s a widely known secret that if you’re hired on a job, you’re basically being passed off to a photographer to be trafficked. The number of times and situations where I was put in horrific environments where sexual abuse was the goal and the paycheck that you were desperate for in order to survive was the carrot, I can’t count on two hands. It was quite often.†Even after he quit modeling, groping photographers remained a problem, as Ritchson says Mario Testino tried to rub his crotch at the Hunger Games: Catching Fire premiere.
Ritchson said he was assaulted on his last modeling job ever: “I was booked for a shoot for this very famous photographer. I was sent into a hotel room to do nudes with the promise that if I did the shoot, he would offer me a very lucrative campaign for a magazine and a clothing line. I was sexually assaulted by this guy.†He says his agent seemed to admit that he knew an assault was likely, saying, “I won’t send you back there, I know he’s a little aggressive.â€
Ritchson acknowledged how unsafe the working conditions were for women in the industry as well. “I completely empathize with women who deal with dynamic power struggles with predatory people in the workplace,†he said. “It’s still unfair, but if I really had to, I could get myself out of whatever room I was in through a physical altercation. Most women don’t have that option. Imagine how terrifying it must be.â€