Linda Evangelista says she was a victim of abuse during the height of her fame as a model.
Evangelista shared her story in the Apple TV+ docuseries “The Super Models,” which premiered Wednesday. The Canadian suggested that her 1987-1993 marriage to Gérald Marie, the former head of Elite Model Management, was “abusive.”
“It’s easier said than done to leave an abusive relationship,” she stated. “I understand that concept because I lived it.”
Evangelista added that during the marriage, she couldn’t simply say, “I want a divorce, see ya.”
“He knew not to touch my face, not to touch the moneymaker,” she continued. “I married him when I was 22 and I got out when I was 27. And he let me out as long as he got everything. But I was safe and I got my freedom.”
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Céline Bekerman, a lawyer for Marie, disputed Evangelista’s claims in statements to multiple news outlets.
“Gérald Marie firmly objects to the defamatory and false allegations made against him,” Bekerman said. “He refuses to participate in this dishonest media controversy.”
In the docuseries, Evangelista said she was frightened of what would happen if she spoke out against Marie, who was one of the most powerful men in the fashion industry. But the model said she got the “courage” to come forward after 15 other women recently accused him of rape and sexual assault.
“When I found out that he’s hurt many, many, many women, he’s violated many women,” she said, “it broke my heart.”
Marie has denied the women’s accusations, which detailed incidents that allegedly took place in the ’80s and ’90s. A lawyer for Marie said the accusers “intend to frame my client as a scapegoat for a system, for an era, that is now over.”
Though French prosecutors closed an investigation into Marie earlier this year due to the statute of limitations, Evangelista said she still wants the former fashion boss to face consequences.
“I would love that justice be served,” she said on the Apple TV+ series. “I would love for assholes like that to think twice and be afraid. And I would love women to know that they’re not alone.”
Along with Evangelista, “The Super Models” follows the lives and careers of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington Burns. All four episodes of the series are available to stream now.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.