Style news

A male model is suing American clothing giant Abercrombie and Fitch for allegedly being told to masturbate at a photo shoot so he would look ‘relaxed’.

Now we’ve heard a few stories about the clothing line favoured by rich American teenagers and Irish students on J1 visas – making their staff do push-ups as punishment is one – but if this tale is true, it surely takes the biscuit.

According to a report on American entertainment website TMZ, male model Benjamin Bowers is filing a $1 million lawsuit against the clothing giant after they referred him to a modelling agent who had some novel and decidedly creepy advice for Bowers about how to come across more relaxed in a photo shoot.

The modelling agent, one Brian Hilburn, is alleged in the lawsuit to have told Bowers to strip down and masturbate in front of the camera, because the best way to achieve a relaxed look was to have a photograph taken of your face immediately after orgasm.

So far, so perverted, but it gets worse. Apparently after Bowers did as he was told, Hilburn then, eh, took out his own manhood and started making comments on the relative size of both men’s genitals.

Bowers, understandably distressed by the whole ordeal, is claiming that the photos taken at the shoot were never intended to help his career and that Hilburn was merely trying to take advantage of him.

Bowers has since filed a lawsuit to the tune of $1 million against Abercrombie and Fitch and Hilburn himself.

It remains to be seen what will become of the lawsuit, but it's more bad PR for a company who have a history of being in the news for the wrong reasons in the past and should encourage them, for want of a better phrase given these particular circumtances, to clean up their act.