Victoria's Secret Documentary: Who is Ed Razek and What Happened to Him? (2024)

Victoria's Secret: Angels and Demons is a three-part documentary series on Hulu delving deep into the world behind Victoria's Secret, its rise, and its fall.

Once the biggest lingerie brand in the world, Victoria's Secret was founded by Roy Raymond before it was purchased by American businessman Les Wexner and his company L Brands in 1982.

As heard in Victoria's Secret: Angels and Demons, Victoria's Secret would grow to become an $8 billion company with stores across the world and an annual fashion show, featuring some of the world's most famous models.

However, things changed in 2019 when amid declining sales, the man who was largely behind the Victoria's Secret fashion show, Ed Razek, resigned from the company. Wexner stepped down as CEO of L Brands in February 2020 and also sold a majority stake in Victoria's Secret for $525 million to a private equity firm.

Since then, Victoria's Secret has undergone a complete rebrand without Razek and Wexner on board.

So, who was Ed Razek, and what happened to him? Newsweek has everything you need to know.

Who is Ed Razek?

Ed Razek is an American businessman who was the chief marketing officer for L Brands from 1983 until 2019.

Before joining L Brands, he worked in advertising, where one of his early clients was L Brands founder, Les Wexner. In 1983, Razek left SBC Advertising, Inc. to work with Wexer in an in-house branding operations role.

As part of his job for L Brands, Razek developed the concept of the Victoria's Secret Angels and was the creative force behind the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

The concept of the Angels came to fruition in 1997 via a TV commercial that featured supermodels Helena Christensen, Karen Mulder, Daniela Peštová, Stephanie Seymour, and Tyra Banks.

In the ad, the angels talked to God, played by Tom Jones. Over the years, the angels would go on to become brand ambassadors and would be the lucky models who got to don wings on Victoria's Secret runway.

Some of the most recognizable angels alongside the original five include Ines Rivero, Laetitia Casta, Heidi Klum, Miranda Kerr, Karlie Kloss, Elsa Hosk, Stella Maxwell, and Jasmine Tookes.

What Happened To Ed Razek and Where Is He Now?

In 2018, Razek hit headlines for all of the wrong reasons.

First of all, in a conversation with Vogue in November 2018, he made the controversial comment that Victoria's Secret would not cast transgender models because the show is "a fantasy". He had also stated audiences had "no interest" in seeing plus-size models on the runway.

In the new #MeToo era, the public backlash was hard to ignore, with calls for him to resign.

He later apologized in a statement posted on Victoria's Secret social channels, admitting his comments were "insensitive."

In early August 2019, Victoria's Secret hired its first transgender model, Valentina Sampaio, but Razek resigned in late August 2019, after facing constant public criticism for his remarks and pressure from shareholders and consumers to change the brand image.

Then, in February 2020, The New York Times published an in-depth investigation of Victoria's Secret, Razek and Wexner, reporting that Razek "presided over an entrenched culture of misogyny, bullying, and harassment".

The New York Times article, titled Angels in Hell: The Culture of Misogyny Inside Victoria's Secret, also found that Razek was the subject of numerous complaints to HR regarding inappropriate behavior, but he continued to work at L Brands until 2019.

It featured interviews with 30 current and former executives, employees, and models who all spoke of Razek's inappropriate behavior.

Some of the models spoke of Razek asking them to sit on his lap, touching them inappropriately, and making suggestive and sexist comments about their bodies.

Razek has denied all of the allegations made against him.

When asked for comment by Hulu's Victoria's Secret: Angels and Demons regarding the harassment allegations, Razek said he would "not dignify these insane allegations with a response" nothing that the success of the company would have been "unthinkable and impossible to achieve without treating everyone with respect. Which is exactly how I behaved at all times."

According to The Independent, Razek now works as a photographer.

Victoria's Secret: Angels and Demons is streaming on Hulu now.