Abercrombie & Fitch backlash continues against Mike Jeffries

May 15, 2013

"'Abercrombie clothes are for people who are cool and look a certain way and are beautiful and are thin' and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," Alley said. "That would make me never buy anything from Abercrombie."

Alley is the latest to weigh in on a growing controversy over the fact the apparel maker doesn't sell women's clothing above a size 10. On Monday, protesters gathered outside of an Abercrombie & Fitch store in Chicago. The backlash also escalated on Twitter, Facebook and even on YouTube where one poster has started a "Fitch the Homeless" campaign asking customers to re-brand the popular retailer by giving their Abercrombie & Fitch clothes to the homeless.

Abercrombie & Fitch isn't commenting, but CEO Mike Jeffries once told Salon Magazine, "A lot of people don't belong in our clothes, and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely."

"It's the whole mindset that sets up bullying; you're excluded.. you're included," said psychologist Dr. Maria Rago.

Part of the fallout began last week after ABC went inside Abercrombie & Fitch's flagship store in New York City and revealed the retailer carries mostly double-zeros and extra smalls and doesn't do XL or XXL for women.

Andrea Neusner and her three daughters are sending back every piece of Abercrombie & Fitch they own.

"I wanted the company to know how I felt about them," Neusner said.

So she's put it all in a letter.

"Not only will I not let my kids shop at Abercrombie again, I will not let them wear what they already have in their closets," Neusner said.

And neither will Kirstie Alley.

"I have two kids in that bracket, but they will never walk into those stores because of his view of people," Alley said.

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