Model claims he was dumped by top agency for being gay and Asian
Chufue Yang, a Chicago-based model who has workedĀ alongside brands such asĀ HUF magazine, Urban OutfittersĀ and Nike, has claimed he was dropped by agency Ford Models becauseĀ he’s gay and Hmong American.
He shared his theory on his Instagram page on August 21, writing:Ā “I can sit here and find multiple reasons to be upset, but measuring my self worth doesnāt really seem like the mindset to wallow in,” alongside an image from a past editorial shoot.
In the post’s caption, YangĀ also detailed how his height, which at 5′ 10″ is slightly shorter than the majority of male models, has madeĀ it difficult for himĀ to get bookings.
“The glass ceiling [is] capped on people of color, especially queer people of color,” he wrote.
“The blame is not on my previous agents,” he continued, clarifying that he is not blaming Ford for the move but rather the lack of openness and willingness to diversifyĀ within the industry.
HeĀ went on to say that he is also partly at fault “for not having a firmer stance onĀ [his] values.”
“What Iāve learned is to not lose your voice in an industry where your physical features are placed above everything else, especially your identity,” he wrote.
In an interview withĀ DazedĀ pubilshed on Wednesday,Ā Yang recalled how he joined Ford in November 2017. His relationship with the agency became strained though when, in July, a websiteĀ assumed his ethnicity and wrote that he was Mongolian.
After being wrongly assumed Mongolian by website models.com, Yang took to social media to set the record straight… which didn’t go down well with his agent (Chufue / Instagram)
Yang challenged the outlet on his social media pages and before long, his agent contacted him and instructed him to take it down. “They didnāt want to ruin the relationship they had with models.com,” he said. “This was the first time that my voice was silenced after being signed and unfortunately, I gave in.”
āTo be honest, this whole experience seemed like it was a test run and I was the guinea pig,ā heĀ told the publication. āSign on a cool, ethnic-looking person, try to push them out, and if that doesnāt work, drop them.”
Yang alsoĀ discussed theĀ several microaggressions he experienced throughout his career, which he believes might have proved harmful to his progression as a model.
Yang believes that the industry is still hung up on using white, muscular men for the majority of campaigns (HUF magazine)
Not only did an unspecified agency once increase his height to 6′ on his portfolio, which in turn caused him to make negative first impressions when designers and scouts met him in person, butĀ his ethnicity has beenĀ erased from information books too.
“It forced me to follow the illusion and ‘standards’ of the industry.”
The issue of visibility for queer models was recently addressed by British Vogue editorĀ Edward Enninful, a former model himself, in an interview withĀ AttitudeĀ magazine.
“Itās like Hollywoodās image of the perfect man, and this old notion of what it meant to be a man and that this perfect man couldnāt be gay. We know thatās wrong,āĀ Enninful said, describing the reason why many gay models fear that coming out may hinder their careers.
