Bella Hadid says working for Victoria's Secret used to make her feel 'like my body is some sort of money maker'

• Bella Hadid has rejoined Victoria's Secret after its rebrand.
• The model told Marie Claire the company "used to be run by men for men."

Bella Hadid told Marie Claire that working for Victoria's Secret once made her feel like her body was being used as a "money maker."

Speaking to Marie Claire's Neha Prakash in an interview published Thursday, Hadid opened up about her past experiences and how new photo-shoot protocols — including contracts outlining that models aren't required to show body parts they don't want to — convinced her to come back to work with the brand.

Since Hadid last worked for Victoria's Secret, walking in the retailer's fashion shows between 2016 and 2018, the company has undergone a dramatic makeover.

A major part of the rebrand included ditching its longtime use of Angels — supermodels who once wore the coveted wings included Tyra Banks, Gisele Bündchen, and Adriana Lima — to represent the brand. In their place, Victoria's Secret announced a new group of ambassadors called the VS Collective, which includes soccer star Megan Rapinoe, champion freestyle skier Eileen Gu, actor Priyanka Chopra, and now, Hadid.

"We're just grateful for how we feel supported now, instead of how we used to feel, when it was a lingerie company that used to be run by men for men," Hadid told Marie Claire.

"I feel empowered again," Hadid added. "I feel empowered in lingerie, instead of feeling like my body is some sort of money maker."

The model told the publication that it took her "almost a year and a half" to meet with the company to discuss returning.

"Even having that conversation was very complicated for me because of the way that I had felt in the past," Hadid said. "But they came to me with a big presentation about everything that they've changed, the way that they're moving forward with not only body diversity, but diversity of women in general."

After multiple meetings, Hadid said, she felt confident "there are real protocols that are being put in order and put in line to make the best possible environment for us."

Hadid was one of a number of models cited in a 2020 New York Times investigation focused on what the publication called "the culture of misogyny inside Victoria's Secret."

According to The New York Times, Ed Razek, a former executive at L Brands, Victoria's Secret's parent company, made inappropriate remarks regarding Hadid at an underwear measurement in 2018.

The New York Times reported that Razek watched Hadid during the measurement and said "forget the panties," before saying the bigger question was if the network would let her walk "down the runway with those perfect titties." The publication noted that one of its sources said they remembered Razek saying "breasts" rather than "titties."

Razek stepped down from his position in 2019 after comments he made about transgender and plus-size models sparked backlash. During an interview with Vogue less than a year before he resigned, Razek said the show shouldn't include "transexuals" because it's "a fantasy." Razek apologized for his remark regarding transgender models at the time, saying in a statement that it "came across as insensitive."

While Victoria's Secret's rebrand seems to be a sign of fundamental change, not everyone is convinced.

In July 2021, former Victoria's Secret model Bridget Malcolm accused Victoria's Secret of "performative allyship" in a viral TikTok, captioning the post: "Too little too late Victoria's Secret."

Later in July, a former merchandising director told Insider's Mary Hanbury the rebrand is "just too late to the game."

"It was like they were dragged with a gun to their head to do the right thing," they added.

Representatives for Victoria's Secret did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.