Guess are investigating the allegations brought forth by Kate Upton after she accused its co-founder Paul Marciano of sexual misconduct.
On Wednesday the board formed a special committee comprised of two independent directors to oversee the ongoing probe into allegations of improper conduct by the fashion mogul.
The announcement Friday came about a week after celebrity and actress Kate Upton accused Marciano of sexual assault on social media.
Kate Upton is pictured here in February 2017 at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills. She recently accused Paul Marciano of sexual misconduct on social media
Upton added the hashtag #metoo, thrusting her into the movement that has gone viral after public reports of sexual harassment allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
She tweeted and also posted on Instagram: ‘It’s disappointing that such an iconic women’s brand @Guess is still empowering Paul Marciano as their creative director #metoo.’
She accompanied her Instagram photo with the caption: ‘He shouldn’t be allowed to use his power in the industry to sexually and emotionally harass women #metoo.’
Guess says that Marciano, pictured here at the Guess Foundation Event in 2016, ‘adamantly denies’ the allegations
On Wednesday the board formed a special committee comprised of two independent directors to oversee the ongoing probe into allegations of improper conduct by the fashion mogul after Upton accused him on social media
Guess says that Marciano ‘adamantly denies’ the allegations.
The Los Angeles-based company says it takes seriously any allegations of sexual harassment and doesn’t condone such misconduct in any form.
She said he began harassing her during her first professional modeling campaign when she was 18, according to TIME.
Marciano called Upton’s accusations ‘absolutely false’ and ‘preposterous.’ ‘I have never been alone with Kate Upton,’ he said.
She said he began harassing her during her first professional modeling campaign when she was 18
‘I have never touched her inappropriately. Nor would I ever refer to a Guess model in such a derogatory manner.’
‘I fully support the #metoo movement. At the same time, I will not allow others to defame me and tarnish my reputation. I have pledged to Guess and its Board of Directors my full support and cooperation with a fair and impartial investigation,’ he said.
Photographer Yu Tsai claims he witnessed Marciano harass Upton.
Upton said: ‘After the first day of shooting the Guess Lingerie campaign [on July 25, 2010], Paul Marciano said he wanted to meet with me.’
‘As soon as I walked in with photographer Yu Tsai, Paul came straight up to me, forcibly grabbed my breasts and started feeling them – playing with them actually. After I pushed him away, he said, “I’m making sure they’re real.”‘
She said he also ‘forcibly grabbed’ the back of her head and continued to touch her ‘in a very dominating and aggressive way.’
Apparently after rejecting his advances repeatedly, the Sports Illustrated model was fired from the a Guess photo shoot
Apparently after rejecting his advances repeatedly, the Sports Illustrated model was fired from a photo shoot.
‘The next day, I learned that I had been fired from the shoot. Someone had called my agency to say I had gotten fat and would not be needed on set [that day]. I was devastated, especially because at this point no one from Guess had even seen me,’ she said.
Upton also appeared on Good Morning America to talk about the sexual allegations against Marciano.