I have recently become rather confused about all the controversy surrounding the dismissal of former Ralph Lauren model Filippa Hamilton. It seems as through everyone under the sun is angry that Filippa was fired due to weight gain. Being an advocate for women’s rights, I would be angry about this incident if Filippa was an executive or a secretary but alas, she is a model. When you are a model, your appearance reflects your work ethic, so you should be doing everything you can to keep yourself fit, especially when you are working for a company like Ralph Lauren and making thousands of dollars per day on a shoot! Models of this level have contracts, and oftentimes they are contractually obligated not to gain more than a certain amount of weight. Breaking the terms of a contract is valid grounds for dismissal—just ask Jon Gosselin.
This incident is in no way a form of discrimination, it is not an action meant to offend. Someone didn’t do their job and was subsequently fired. To me, this seems perfectly fair.
Yes, Filippa’s latest photos for the company were poorly photoshopped and made her look like a very fertile Barbie had a raunchy encounter with a Bobble-head. But the fact that the photos even had to be photoshopped to this degree means that the company had to spend money on retouching (which can be very expensive on a professional level) to fix Filippa’s appearance. This isn’t good for any budget, especially in a recession.
This is not a women’s rights issue, people! Filippa brought unemployment upon herself. She signed a contract that surely had stipulations regarding her appearance and she disregarded it. My advice is to hit the gym, woman! Your career is counting on it.
If you don’t like the idea that models get fired because of their appearance, then I don’t know what to tell you. You are welcome boycott clothes, shoes, makeup, and any other products that models are used to sell.
Perhaps you can become a nudist-Amish…that should work.
