A bombshell BBC documentary has claimed the ex-boss of global fashion brand Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) hosted an illicit sex party at London's famed Claridge's hotel - allegedly using a man with a snakeskin patch nose to recruit young men for it and other events.
Panorama doc The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool spoke to several men who claimed they were recruited by James Jacobson to attend sex parties in order to entertain Mike Jeffries, who transformed A&F into a global fashion powerhouse.
Mr Jacobson, now 70, is alleged to acted as a 'middleman', paying 'recruiters' to find men for sex events - including ones held at Claridge's hotel in London - and reportedly propositioning them for oral sex in twisted 'auditions'. He denies any wrongdoing.
The BBC spoke to eight men who claimed they all had been approached by Mr Jacobson, who they recognised because of the snakeskin patch that he wore across his nose following, he claimed, a botched plastic surgery operation.
Mr Jacobson has said in a statement to the broadcaster that he took offence at the suggestion of 'any coercive, deceptive or forceful behaviour on my part', adding that every encounter he had was 'fully consensual'.
James Jacobson allegedly introduced himself to 'recruits' as a 'middleman' for Abercrombie & Fitch modelling opportunities - a claim he denies
Mr Jacobson - described as 'Jim' by men who spoke to the BBC - is alleged to have propositioned men for oral sex under the guise that it would help them get work
Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, is alleged to have exploited men for sex
Two men who agreed to speak on camera to Panorama detailed their encounters with Mr Jacobson, who they knew as Jim, in Los Angeles - which saw both allegedly coerced into performing sex acts, for which they claimed to have been paid.
The BBC said Mr Jacobson was the 'middleman' in a 'well-oiled machine' organising sex events for Mr Jeffries, in which he would allegedly approach men via 'recruiters' and proposition them.
Men told the broadcaster they were ordered to submit to intimate body hair shaving ahead of the parties, and made to sign non-disclosure agreements that banned them from speaking out, at the risk of being sued.
READ MORE: BBC Panorama allegations: Former Abercrombie & Fitch boss Mike Jeffries is accused of exploiting men for sex in bombshell claims
Allegations were made on the BBC that a 'highly organised network' used a middleman to find young men for businessman Mike Jeffries, 79
<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/news/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->AdvertisementDavid Bradberry, then 23, said he was introduced to the alleged middleman by an agent who described him as having a direct link to 'the owners' of A&F in 2010 - but said there was no mention of sex being involved.
At their meeting, he said Mr Jacobson suggested Bruce Weber - then A&F's official photographer - should take his picture.
Mr Bradberry said he had been made to believe 'this is where everybody gets their start' - and was then propositioned by Mr Jacobson to engage in a sex act.
Mr Bradberry added: 'Jim made it clear to me that unless I let him perform oral sex on me, that I would not be meeting with Abercrombie & Fitch or Mike Jeffries.'
'I was paralysed,' he said. 'It was like he was selling fame. And the price was compliance.'
He recalled that Mr Jacobson gave him $500 and told him it was for his time.
Looking back, he said this incident should have been 'a red flag' but he thought Mr Jacobson 'was just a creepy old dude that I wouldn't have to see again'.
Ahead of the event, he said he was given an A&F gift-card to buy an outfit, which he said made it feel 'legitimate' and 'official'.
At the Hamptons, Mr Bradberry said he spoke to Mr Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith about his aspirations to be an A&F model.
Later, he said, Mr Jeffries held 'poppers' under his nose - a drug which can cause a strong head-rush and disorientation - and later had sex with him.
Former model Barrett Pall also says he was introduced to 'Jim', whom he described as having a 'weird nose contraption', and propositioned.
He told the BBC's Rianna Croxford that he and Mr Jacobson undressed before the 'middleman' allegedly asked him to perform a sex act.
Mr Pall added that he had been 'groomed' to believe that the idea of sexual favours in exchange for work was normalised in Hollywood - when in reality he had allegedly been sexually abused.
Barrett Pall, a former model, described meeting Mr Jacobson - a man with a 'weird nose contraption' - and claims he was propositioned and asked to perform a sex act
David Bradberry was 23 when he says he was introduced to Mr Jacobson as the 'gatekeeper' to Abercrombie & Fitch
At least one illicit sex party was allegedly held at Claridge's hotel in Mayfair, London, sometime between 2009 and 2015
The BBC said six of the eight men who they spoke to that met Mr Jacobson engaged in sexual activity.
The men all say they were then recruited for sex parties across the world. The parties were held in the US, including at Jeffries' plush home in the Hamptons in New York, as well as in London, Paris, Venice, Marrakesh and the Caribbean.
A number of the men say they were exploited or abused sexually during the parties, being coerced into performing acts they did not want to do.
READ MORE: Tearful guest at event hosted by ex-Abercrombie & Fitch boss Mike Jeffries tells BBC Panorama he believes he was 'drugged and raped' there before contracting HIV virus
<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/news/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_2 - ->AdvertisementMr Pall detailed how he was then invited to an event at Jeffries' Hamptons home, where an older model told him 'you don't have to do anything you don't want to do' but suggested that 'the further you go, the better'.
When he arrived at the event, with staff supervising, he felt under pressure to 'perform'.
It was alleged that at least one event was held at Claridge's in Mayfair, sometime between 2009 and 2015.
Mr Bradberry claims that he was told to attend a party in London after Mr Jacobson said he was not 'catalogue fit' following his first illicit event.
MailOnline has contacted the Maybourne Hotel Group, which operates Claridge's, for comment.
Civil lawyers in the US have claimed that the allegation of recruiting the men for parties under the guise of giving them opportunities at Abercrombie & Fitch, only to fly them across the world for sexual exploitation, could amount to sex trafficking under American law.
The BBC said it has corroborated the accounts with emails, flight tickets and travel iteneraries, as well as former members of Mr Jeffries' household staff.
One man, Alex, said he attended an event in Marrakesh where he believes he was drugged and raped - and contracted HIV as a result.
Abercrombie and Fitch opened its first European store in Savile Row, London in 2007 - later closing the shop during the coronavirus pandemic
Abercrombie & Fitch is infamous for its highly sexualised marketing - but was dogged with claims of a toxic and racist work culture
Former A&F boss Mike Jeffries once told Salon magazine that his clothes were targeted at 'cool, good-looking people,' adding: 'Are we exclusionary? Absolutely'
In a statement to the BBC, Mr Jacobson - the so-called 'gatekeeper' and 'middleman' who allegedly propositioned men while recruiting them for parties - denied engaging in non-consensual sexual behaviour.
He said: 'I am compelled to register my offense at the notion that there was ever any coercive, deceptive or forceful behaviour on my part.
'Further, I have no knowledge of any such conduct by others... I have no recollection of making promises of modelling opportunities... nor did I tell anyone they weren't "catalogue fit".
'Any encounter I had was fully consensual. Everyone I came into contact with who attended these events went in with their eyes wide open.'
The BBC says Mike Jeffries did not respond to multiple requests for comment, while Abercrombie & Fitch said it was 'appalled and disgusted' by the allegations.
Mike Jeffries was credited with reversing the ailing fortunes of Abercrombie & Fitch when he took over the company in 1992.
His tenure saw the company engage in highly sexualised and controversial marketing, and Mr Jeffries was often criticised for off-colour remarks in which he said his clothing was only for 'cool kids' and good-looking people.
And in 2006, he told Salon magazine: 'Good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people.
'We don't market to anyone other than that… We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends.
'Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.'
Abercrombie & Fitch opened its first European store in Savile Row in London in 2007; it closed in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, but the firm has six other UK stores in London, Edinburgh, Kent and Manchester.
But Mr Jeffries stepped down as the boss in 2014 as the company's share price declined amid allegations of a toxic working culture that later became the subject of Netflix documentary White Hot.
A&F was the subject of a number of lawsuits and employment tribunals by staff who claimed that it favoured white people when recruiting for work.
Riam Deam, who worked for the company in the 2000s, won a tribunal after she was made to work in the backroom of the Savile Row store because she had a false arm.
And the company tried to argue before the US Supreme Court that it was legally entitled to deny a Muslim woman employment because she wore a headscarf - which went against its 'look' policy. It lost the case.
A&F added in its statement to the BBC that new leadership since Mr Jeffries' departure has transformed the company into 'the values-driven organization it is today', adding that it has 'zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind'.
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