Former Abercrombie CEO Michael Jeffries' boyfriend Matthew Smith was sort of like Epstein with Victoria's Secret
Before Leslie Wexner’s obsession with Jeffrey Epstein, there was Michael Jeffries; who in turn obsessed over Matthew Smith. The boyfriends ruled over Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch.
Before Leslie Wexner’s obsession with Jeffrey Epstein, there was Michael “Mike” Jeffries. In 1992, after their ‘thing’ was over, Jeffries, 48, landed safely into the Wexner-owned Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F). Prior to meeting Wexner, he had a job at Federated Department Stores. Federated is the same store Bella Wexner worked for before opening her own store with her husband in 1963.
When Jeffries became A&F’s CEO, he brought along his partner, Matthew Smith. Jeffries, who married Marie Isabel Hansen, in 1971, had boldly stepped out of the closet. Hansen is the daughter of music mogul Charles H. Hanson—once the sole U.S. publisher and distributor of Beatles sheet music commencing in 1964.
In 2013, BuzzFeed reported that Jeffries, who is openly gay, has been in a relationship with Smith for at least a decade—meaning 2003 or earlier. Above is a photo of Jeffries with photographer Bruce Weber taken in 2005 by Michael Loccisano. Weber has been accused of being a sexual predator by several of the models and recently settled a lawsuit.
2010 Smith’s role is exposed by A&E Pilot
In 2010, Michael Bustin, 53, a pilot who flew the Abercrombie plane, filed an age discrimination lawsuit against the company. Abercrombie’s general counsel said the suit was without merit. The complaint included a 40-page “Aircraft Standards” manual. As Bustin put it in his deposition, “Every single aspect that you can imagine that affected the airplane or our behavior in it was controlled by Abercrombie & Fitch, specifically, Michael Jeffries and Matthew Smith.” The four male crew members (models provided to Abercrombie) had to wear jeans, boxers, polo shirts, and flip-flops. The manual specified the seating arrangements for Jeffries’s three dogs, the length of the spoon Smith required for his tea, and the proper way to respond to requests (“No problem”), fold washcloths, vacuum, dust, and present magazines. When Jeffries was called to give a second deposition in the winter of 2012, Abercrombie settled the case without admitting wrongdoing. The details weren’t made public.
Matthew Smith ran A&F
Smith's name doesn't show up in regulatory filings or investor presentations, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a picture of him online. But according to six current and former Abercrombie executives and other employees, he wields vast influence over the retailer's operations and strategic direction. He's a regular fixture at internal company meetings, sources say, and is involved in matters large and small, including serving as an enforcer for Jeffries' rigid "Workstation Standards," ensuring that policies regarding seat cushions (no more than one per chair) and stickers (none on metal cubes, filing cabinets, or partitions) are being observed.
These sources say Jeffries, who is openly gay and has been in a relationship with Smith for at least a decade, has involved his partner in managing a linchpin of the A&F's growth plan, the real estate expansion — with Smith playing a role in choosing the locations of new stores overseas. Smith goes solo to monthly real estate meetings at the company's New Albany, Ohio, headquarters with a seat by the chief financial officer and gets weekly real estate briefings from Abercrombie executives, sources said. At times, it's unclear if Smith is just relaying information to Jeffries and then carrying out his wishes — as when Smith nixed a deal in Europe that Abercrombie had already signed a lease on — or if he's acting as an executive in his own right, one former executive said.
Jeffrey Epstein ran Victoria’s Secret
Despite Wexner’s pearl-clutching protestations, Epstein really did run Victoria’s Secret. In 1991, Wexner handed Epstein power of attorney giving him sweeping control over his financial affairs. That’s more than we can say about Smith.
By comparing how Wexner and Jeffries gave free reign to their boyfriends (in Ohio Epstein was known as Wexner’s ‘boyfriend’), there’s a pattern. While researching I always look for patterns. These consist of repeated actions that are similar nature and are usually deeply embedded in the behavior of a person or corporation.
The boyfriends had final say, it seems, not the other way around as mainstream has repeated ad nauseam about Wexner. Although, by now, we’ve grown weary of hearing what is proving to be a really big lie—and, a really big cover-up.
The entire fashion world hates women.