We Were Right About Victoria’ Secret: They Were Grooming Our Girls

It's been over a decade since over 20,000 of us told Victoria's Secret to pull their  "Bright Young Things" line — and I've been thinking about it a lot again lately.

Back in 2013, I was a young mom pushing a double stroller past a PINK storefront, alarmed by sexualized underwear being marketed to young girls in the Victoria’s Secret window. 

When I spoke up, I was dismissed as a paid conservative influencer, an alarmist, and a prude. Actually, I was — and am — a progressive who believes grooming kids for profit is not only gross but deeply disturbing and harmful. 

I got the ick when I saw that storefront all those years ago and when, the following week I got a mailer for the new line that seemed aimed at young girls. Something felt very, very off. You agreed.

Turns out, we were more right than we knew.

What's since come to light is far worse than an insensitive ad campaign. Les Wexner, founder of L Brands and Victoria's Secret's parent company, had a deep personal and financial relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Wexner's name appears over 1,000 times in FBI documents. In 2021, L Brands settled a lawsuit for $90 million over claims that executives ignored repeated reports of abuse connected to Epstein. And, that's just what we know. Only a fraction of the millions of Epstein files have even been released. Only a fraction of victims have likely come forward.

We didn’t have all of this evidence back then. But, we trusted our instincts.

We believed that simply adding our names to a growing list of other outraged people saying this is not okay could have an impact. And, it did. We put pressure on Victoria Secret with our petition and after public outcry, they pulled the line. 

Now, ten+ years later I still believe we can effect change. Do you? 

As we all grapple with what to do to hold these powerful and privileged people accountable for their heinous actions, I want to hear from you. 

Please consider filling out this 2 minute survey and let me know. 

Now what? Let’s figure that out together. 

Thanks for caring then and now,