November 26, 2014  |  SANTA MONICA, CA 

Being ambitious doesn’t mean i’m willing to sacrifice my integrity to get ahead. 

Two days after I quit my job at BCBG MaxAzria, a friend of mine was extremely interested and eager to help.  We were in the same friends circle, but I never got to know him well before now.  To my surprise, he worked for one of the top three fashion recruiting agencies in LA and insisted I come into the office straight away so he could help me get a job.  This was only 2 days after I impulsively quit, so the panic hadn't set in just yet, but it felt great to know I had friends who wanted to see me succeed.

Later that week, the group of us went out to the bar… he got really drunk and put his hand up my dress at the bar.  I was alarmed and then appalled.  The only words I could manage to get out at that moment were, “what are you doing!”.  He arrogantly replied, “if you want a job, you gotta do what you gotta do”.  I mostly certainly do not and did not.  I demanded an apology, which I did not get until much later. 

It got me thinking about aspiring young actresses and how very real the “casting couch” is.  It scared me to think that this was someone who I had interacted with many times before, but when he thought he had some sort authority over me, he could force himself upon me.