Oh, American Apparel!
The company known for its sexually suggestive advertising campaigns is in hot water again after an internal email leaked on the Internet this week.
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The memo, which comes on the heels of a restructuring period following the firing of brand founder Dov Charney in December 2014, details its plant to hire real models — not “Instagram hoes or thots” moving forward. The term “thot” is an Internet slang acronym for “that ho overthere.”
So ICYMI, this posting came through @PhotogenicsLA and as you can imagine, struck a nerve with us at AA.. pic.twitter.com/J6QzEyrs6E
— ?alerie (@ValerieChris_) March 24, 2015
The email, posted on Twitter by AA model Valerie Chris, gave instructions for a March 18 casting call at a warehouse in Alameda, Calif. “Company is going through a rebranding image so will be shooting models moving forward. Real Models. Not Instagram hoes or thots,” the note said.
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Chris expressed her disappointment with the message. “Far from deserving of any of that disrespectful language used,” she tweeted on March 24. “So good luck with that rebranding if that’s the attitude moving forward.”
Los Angeles casting agent Phira Luon, who was hired by American Apparel, wrote the leaked email, according to the New York Post. Luon apologized for the memo to the newspaper, saying it “was just an inappropriate, off-color joke that was not intended to defame the client’s name or philosophy/views any way.”
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The company took to its Facebook page, to apologize on March 24. “This is American Apparel, always has been and always will be. We love all our models, all shapes, and sizes. #welovediversity #weloveyouall!” a caption of a picture featuring two curvy models read.
For years, American Apparel has hired real women in its often controversial ad campaigns, to promote positive body self-images. Along with this move to tone down its sexual image, American Apparel is now airbrushing nipples out of online ads for lingerie.
This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: American Apparel Apologizes for Leaked Casting Email Seeking “Real Models,” Not “Instagram Hoes or Thots”
