American Apparel Model: Dov Charney "Perfectly Harmless"
Now, this is the kind of thing we like to see: in Radar Online, an American Apparel model defends the sticky-but-fun truth about modeling for pervy (yet pleasingly macho) founder Dov Charney. "We were more than five hours late to this shoot at Dov's loft in Manhattan because I could not stop puking up the entire bottle of wine I downed the night before... although when I glimpse my protruding ribs on the back of L.A. Weekly weeks later, I'm secretly thankful for having nothing left in my stomach that day." Seriously, she continues, he's actually a standup guy, a real mensch (despite the pending sexual harassment lawsuits.)
You could think of Dov as a champion for positive body image. He likes his models happy and squishy, unlike the emaciated aliens of the runways. I gained a few pounds after our first photo shoot, and family and friends would comment on my "fuller, softer facial features," much to my dismay. In a world where cheekbones are artificially enhanced, this sucked. But when I saw Dov for the first time since gaining a few curves, he told me I looked better than ever, sincerely. Any man who wants me to eat more is just hands down fucking great.
So why do people love to hate Dov then? Maybe it's because he's exactly who men aspire to be: an incredible entrepreneur, constantly surrounded by beautiful people, successful, powerful. And for women, maybe he's the man they've always wanted in their lives, the one who shoves French takeout in front of them, tells them they're beautiful in spandex, and gives them vibrators just because. For the record, this rumor about Dov is true and I've never been more thankful.
In short: women like Dov because, when he's not creeping them out, he makes them feel sexy. He follows this up by saying things like, "Call me anytime, for anything. I'm always here for you." Fair enough, then. Carry on!
Photo: Radar