The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Is Dead

Victoria's Secret Models.

Victoria'south Surreptitious models. Photograph: JACKSON LEE/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Later controversial comments and scheduling changes, the Victoria's Secret fashion show suffered its worst ratings in it's broadcasted history. USA Today reports that the show, which aired Sunday night on ABC, was only watched by three.27 one thousand thousand people.

Over the form of two years, Victoria'southward Secret has lost half of its television audience. The drop in viewers continued this twelvemonth, in spite of the brand putting on what Victoria's Hugger-mugger executive producer Ed Razek called its "nigh ambitious" version of the show nonetheless. "We take more musical guests, more fashion, and more stories than ever; and, of course, 60 of the world's acme models."

The show did include many musical guests: Bebe Rexha, the Chainsmokers, Halsey, Kelsea Ballerini, Rita Ora, Shawn Mendes, and the Struts. Only on Sunday, before the show aired, Halsey issued a statement about the show on her Instagram, distancing herself from the company.

"I accept adored the Victoria's Cloak-and-dagger Manner Show since I was young," Halsey wrote. "Nonetheless, after I filmed the performance, some comments were made regarding the bear witness that I simply cannot ignore. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I take no tolerance for a lack of inclusivity."

Her statement probable references Razek'due south other comments about the show, which were not well-received. When asked about curating runways with more inclusive casting, Razek explained that attempts at diversifying the models would be seen every bit "pandering" and didn't fit the company's messaging.

"If you're asking if we've considered putting a transgender model in the show or looked at putting a plus-size model in the prove, we accept," Razek said. "Nosotros market to who we sell to, and we don't market to the whole world. We attempted to do a television special for plus-sizes [in 2000]. No one had any involvement in it, withal don't."

The show failed to alive up to the aggressive goals that Razek touted. Robin Givhan reviewed the show for the Washington Post, calling it "too boring to even argue about." She wrote:

You lot'd think Victoria's Secret would have made sure this show was exciting and captivating — a sort of good-organized religion statement in favor of its stubborn commitment to marketing-every bit-usual. Instead, executives produced a bear witness in which the models paraded down the track like dusty showgirls blowing kisses and drawing hearts in the air, with one model practically indistinguishable from another… No matter how many pairs of wings, crescent moons and multicolored parachutes are on the track, Victoria'southward Underground is still selling bras and panties. And they are a mess.

Victoria'southward Secret did end upwards apologizing for Razek'southward comments. But betwixt responses to Razek, and the many logistical changes, the evidence had its everyman ratings since it was beginning broadcasted in 2001. Beyond Razek's comments, there were other factors that could have afflicted viewership. According to Harper's Boutique , the show was moved from CBS to ABC this year, and was moved from its usual Tuesday broadcast fourth dimension to Sunday. The poor performance of the evidence has been accompanied by sales that keep to drop.

"It takes an extraordinary amount of ineptitude, laziness, and sheer disregard to make a show as stultifying and lifeless as the Victoria'due south Underground i," Givhan wrote. "Greater diversity would be welcome, but it can't save Victoria'due south Secret from its own self-devastation."

The Victoria'southward Undercover Fashion Prove Is Dead