‘I had to endure the abuse in order to continue working’: Ex-model Carré Sutton accuses former agency boss of sexual assault

Former model is just one of the women to have accused Gérald Marie of sexual misconduct

(AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)

On Tuesday, ex-model Carré Sutton, 52, testified against former Elite Model Management boss Gérald Marie, alleging that the 71-year-old sexually assaulted her when she was 17 years old.

Sutton is just one of the women who has accused Marie of sexual misconduct, with six women flying to Paris earlier this week to testify against him as the police investigate a series of allegations dating back to the 1980s and 1990s.

All of the public allegations thus far have exceeded the statute of limitations, and therefore the testimonies are being conducted primarily in a bid to raise awareness.

Marie, who was once the most powerful man in the fashion industry and was previously married to Linda Evangelista, has always denied the allegations against him.

Sutton, who filed a lawsuit against Marie in New York City last month, has accused Marie of having “repeatedly raped her” when she was a teenager and giving her access to illegal drugs “on the premise that it would allow her to lose weight to become a more successful model”.

“I knew I had to endure the abuse in order to continue working,” Marie told a press conference in Paris on Tuesday, WWD reports. “That was made very clear to me.”

Sutton, who was one of the faces of Calvin Klein in the 1990s, also accused Marie of having “trafficked” her “to other wealthy men around Europe”.

“As a child, it’s really what you do to survive and try to normalize or compartmentalize is classic trauma response,” she said.

“I move throughout my career really trying to put something to the side that was horrific and traumatic to me.”

Sutton went on to say that abuse is “normalised” in the fashion industry “because of the perceived privilege of being paid for winning a genetic lottery”.

She continued: “Many see that as the price of fame and even as fair trade.

“The industry that enabled my abuse and let men pay for access to women is still the same industry today.”

Since Tuesday, several other high-profile models have spoken out in support of Sutton.

“Enough is enough — I stand with Carré,” said Carla Bruni.

“No industry is immune from sexual abuse. There is so much work to do in France and around the world to ensure that women are protected from sexual violence on the job.”

Helena Christensen added that she stood with these “brave women all the way,” reports The New York Times.

Sara Ziff, the Model Alliance founder and executive director, told the publication that claims such as Sutton’s are far from isolated.

“I know similar abuse still takes place in the sector today because we hear from current models via our help line,” she said.

“This is about the fashion industry, but it could also have wider implications for how we think about women’s work. If we can’t win protections against child sex trafficking for some of the most privileged and visible women in the world, then more broadly where does that leave us?”

Celine Bekerman, Marie’s lawyer, told The Daily Mail that he “refutes with dismay these false and defamatory allegations” but would be “withholding his eventual statements until speaking to the competent authorities”.