Reacher star Alan Ritchson reveals that he quit modeling after being sexually assaulted by a “very famous photographer” and says that models are routinely “passed off to a photographer to be trafficked.”
Ritchson spoke about the incident and his experiences with photographers in the modeling industry before he quit to become an actor in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Ritchson, who stars as Jack Reacher in the hit television series, says he was sexually assaulted while he was “one of the highest-paid models at an agency.”
“I was booked for a shoot for this very famous photographer. I was sent into a hotel room to do nudes with the promise that if I did the shoot, he would offer me a very lucrative campaign for a magazine and a clothing line,” Richardson tells The Hollywood Reporter.
“I was sexually assaulted by this guy.”
Ritchson says that he immediately left the photo shoot, drove to the modeling agency’s office, and told them to never call him again. The actor did not name the photographer.
“I quit the industry, and it was the last photo shoot I’ve ever had. Those pictures were never seen or published. That was it,” he explains.
“I swore it off and thank God acting found me at the exact same time, so I was able to make a switch to a new career, but it left some scars.”
‘It’s Like Legalized Sex Trafficking’
In the interview, Ritchson compared modeling industry to human sex trafficking, saying the industry “is not regulated” and models are routinely sexually assaulted by photographers.
“It’s a widely known secret that if you’re hired on a job, you’re basically being passed off to a photographer to be trafficked,” Ritchson says.
“The number of times and situations where I was put in horrific environments where sexual abuse was the goal and the paycheck that you were desperate for in order to survive was the carrot, I can’t count on two hands. It was quite often.”
However, Ritchson acknowledged that the situation was worse for women in the modeling industry.
“You’re always dancing around this very terrible line of, ‘How do I keep the job and not completely offend this photographer or this agent or whoever set this thing up, and how do I not get raped?’” Ritchson tells The Hollywood Reporter.
“I completely empathize with women who deal with dynamic power struggles with predatory people in the workplace.
“It’s still unfair, but if I really had to, I could get myself out of whatever room I was in through a physical altercation.
“Most women don’t have that option. Imagine how terrifying it must be.”
In the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ritchson also alleged that fashion photographer Mario Testino touched him inappropriately when they were sat next to each other at a Paris Fashion Week dinner in 2014. Testino did not return The Hollywood Reporter’s request for comment.
This isn’t the first time Testino has come under fire. In 2018, an exposé from The New York Times accused Testino of sexual harassment.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE & online.rainn.org).
Image credits: Header photo via Amazon Studios.