Following several weeks of backlash, Abercrombie & Fitch has issued a formal apology for his company's exclusionary stance on plus sized customers.
Comments from a 2006 interview with A&F CEO Mike Jeffries surfaced in which he claimed that the brand name only wanted thin, beautiful people in their clothes as beautiful people wearing the clothes will attract other beautiful people to shop at their stores. The comments caused a significant uproar among customers and celebrities who slammed the brand names bullying-like antics.
Ellen DeGeneres, a firm anti-bully advocate, used her show as a platform to slam Jefferies' past comments and not-so-apologetic apology. In the statement Jeffries claimed his statements were taken out of context.
Now, after a Change.org petition was released by Benjamin O’Keefe, an eating disorder survivor, and garnered 71,000 signatures, the brand has released an official apology.
According to People the apology states that A& F is “taking concrete steps to demonstrate our commitment to anti-bullying in addition to our ongoing support of diversity and inclusion. We want to reiterate that we sincerely regret and apologize for any offense caused by comments we have made in the past which are contrary to these values.”