Alan Ritchson at “Ordinary Angels” premiere.Photo:John Nacion/Variety via Getty
John Nacion/Variety via Getty
Alan Ritchson is opening up about the dark side of his modeling days.
In a new interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Ritchson recalls being sent to meet a well-known photographer in a hotel room “to do nudes with the promise that if I did the shoot, he would offer me a very lucrative campaign for a magazine and a clothing line.”
After his agent told him to “calm down,” Ritchson says he asked them to never contact him again.
“I quit the industry and it was the last photo shoot I’ve ever had,” the actor recalls. “Those pictures were never seen or published. That was it. I swore it off and thank God acting found me at the exact same time so I was able to make a switch to a new career, but it left some scars.”
Ritchson shared other dark memories from his time as a model, calling the industry “legalized sex trafficking.”
Jesse Grant/WireImage
“There are very few redeeming qualities toworking in that industry,” he says. “Let’s be honest, it’s like legalized sex trafficking. The industry is not regulated, and it’s a widely known secret that if you’re hired on a job, you’re basically being passed off to a photographer to be trafficked.”
The actor also recounts a specific incident with fashion photographer Mario Testino. Ritchson claims inThe Hollywood Reporterfeaturethat Testino touched him inappropriately when seated next to each other at a Paris Fashion Week dinner in 2014. Testino has not returned The Hollywood Reporter’s or PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Ritchson says he left the event early but Testino called him later that night asking him to come to his hotel room. When Ritchson protested, he claims Testino tried to bribe him with the offer of aVoguecover shoot.
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“I was like, ‘I don’t give a shit about the cover ofVogue,” Ritchson recalls. “I don’t give a shit about whatever opportunity you want to dangle in front of me.’”
Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
“Look, I’m 41 now. Even without the stress of a major television show, your body stops producing as much, but as men we need it,” he says. “It’s responsible for a lot of mechanics in our body. It’s a mood stabilizer. It helps build lean muscle and engages those synapses. I built my body forReacherin season one without any of that. It never even occurred to me that that was a possibility. Being on testosterone, it just makes all those things easier, building muscle, staying healthy, repairing your body, staying lean. Why would I keep that a secret?”
source: people.com
