Source: AbercrombieandFILTH.com
By: Company Press Release
(LOS ANGELES, CA) — The Abercrombie and Fitch Company (A&F) has registered a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization claiming gay entertainment web site AbercrombieAndFilth.com tarnishes their image.
The web site AbercrombieAndFilth.com is hosted by a character, BJ Abercrombie, who seasonally posts new pictures of attractive young male models. Although there are no nude pictures on AbercrombieAndFilth.com there are links to adult web sites that do contain nudity.
The claim that AbercrombieAndFilth.com "disparages, dilutes and tarnishes" A&F is rather ironic considering the amount of nudity and variety of blatant sexual content in their own publication. A&F’s own catalog/magazine has a warning label that states, "Due to mature content parental consent suggested for readers under eighteen" and you must present an ID to purchase the catalog.
A&F’s 2001 spring edition was titled "XXX" and featured an interview with porn star Ron Jeremy who discusses performing oral sex on himself and using a dildo cast from his own penis.
A&F’s Summer 2001 issue contains 12 pictures of topless girls and 11 pictures of completely nude boys, one 2-page spread features 3 nude men in the surf posed in a way clearly intended to reference anal sex.
A&F also claims AbercrombieAndFilth.com is damaging the "goodwill" of the A&F company. Do they mean goodwill such as their 1999 interview with "the hottest porn star in America," Jenna Jameson who advises men to never tell a woman "no matter how much of a ho you think she is, ‘Suck it, bitch!’"
In A&F’s 1998 "Back to School" issue in an article titled "Drinking 101" A&F declares, "rather than the standard beer binge, indulge in some creative drinking this semester." The article included recipes for 10 mixed drinks and a spinner with pictures of each drink intended to be used in various drinking games. Parents were furious and A&F store employees removed the drinking game pages from the remaining copies and sent apology letters to their subscribers.
In addition A&F was particularly upset that AbercrombieAndFilth.com linked to gay adult web sites yet in their "Spring Break" 2000 issue there is a feature called "Naked News Wire" in which they give an internet address where you can view pictures of a nude youth rally, "hundreds of 15 to 25 year-old nudists…massage and body-paint each other," it reads. All of the men featured at AbercrombieAndFilth.com and the sites they advertise are all at least 18.
Justin Jorgensen created AbercrombieAndFilth.com as his own tongue-in-cheek jab at A&F’s denial that their company uses homoerotic imagery to promote their clothes. "Give me a break, A&F is total gay porn! Everyone knows it but they won’t admit it. I’m not tarnishing their image – they don’t seem to need any help with that," said Jorgensen. "I also think A&F is responsible for fostering a sense of self hatred in the gay community. It’s the idea that appearing to be ‘straight’ is the sexy ideal and embracing gay culture is not attractive – and that’s very destructive."
For other articles on A&F’s controversial catalog see the following links:
Abercrombie & Fitch catalog prompts boycott David Crary AP National Writer www.amarillonet.com/stories/062201/usn_boycott.shtml
"Abercrombie & Fitch’s naked pitch" WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY www.dominionpost.com/a/edit/2001/06/22/ab/
"Abercrombie and Fitch Catalog" Extra TV extratv.warnerbros.com/dailynews/pop/04_01/04_16a.html
Interview Contact:
Justin Jorgensen
14622 Ventura Blvd
PMB #493
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
818-981-7887
