Designer Alexander Wang denies groping and drugging fashion models

Alexander Wang has denied multiple allegations against him for sexual assault. Several accusers have come forward with stories about Wang that include him groping, spiking their drinks with MDMA, and having forcing himself onto someone too drunk to give consent.

Model Owen Mooney posted a TikTok accusing Wang of groping him in 2017 at a New York City nightclub. Diet Prada, an Instagram account that serves as a watchdog of sorts for fashion, amplified Mooney's story along with several other anonymous accounts shared with another account, Shit Model Management. The latter Instagram account previously published a blacklist to protect models from sexual assault.

The designer denied all the allegations in a statement to Page Six. "Over the last few days, I have been on the receiving end of baseless and grotesquely false accusations," Wang said through a representative. "These claims have been wrongfully amplified by social media accounts infamous for posting defamatory material from undisclosed and/or anonymous sources with zero evidence or any fact checking whatsoever. Seeing these lies about me being perpetuated as truths has been infuriating."

Trans models are among the many accusers — Mooney initially spoke on TikTok of being groped by a famous designer without revealing the assailant's name. After several commenters speculated that it was Wang, Mooney confirmed it the high-profile designer who grabbed his crotch on a crowded dance floor.

Mooney's tale inspired several others to come forward with anonymous accounts, a common phenomenon in the #MeToo era. The allegations include multiple trans models who say Wang groped and exposed their genitals. Multiple people also say Wang spiked their drinks with MDMA without their knowledge, including one person who has Bipolar disorder who says the drug forced them into "psychosis" and led to them being hospitalized for weeks.

Another common occurrence, according to the allegations, was Wang pressuring people into attending his "after parties," where he then became sexually aggressive. One person says Wang pressured them into drinking vodka until their memory was blurry and they were "dragged" into a taxi. Later that night, that person says they awoke in Wang's bed to the designer performing oral sex on them, and had a gash on their face from when Wang hit them with a bottle earlier in the night as part of his urges to drink.

In his statement, Wang said he has "never engaged in the atrocious behavior described and would never conduct myself in the manner that's been alleged." He added, "I intend to get to the bottom of this and hold accountable whoever is responsible for originating these claims and viciously spreading them online."

Calls for accountability — The allegations against Wang need to be taken seriously, especially as they concern trans people who are statistically more vulnerable. Studies suggest that approximately half of trans people will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Male victims, also, are often excluded from conversations around sexual assault. One in six men have experienced sexual assault or abuse, according to the 1 in 6 organization, and that figure may be low because men are less likely to disclose what happened to them or even regard themselves as victims.

Wang has been one of the most preeminent designers in contemporary American fashion. His "walk of shame" campaigns are now drawing increased scrutiny, as is his decision to cast R. Kelly for advertisements in 2017. Wang has also worked with Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner, and social media users have called for them to use their profiles as two of the most famous models in the world to publicly condemn his alleged abuse.