To set up and agency run by women for women and to break free from the unruly standards of the modeling industry. A place where women of all shapes and walks of life can be presented. Empowered women empowering women and most importantly an agency where models are safe. There are so many predators in this world, especially ones that come after young models with high Hope's and dreams.
It is with a heavy heart, and absolute anger that I announce the end of this company. The management, marketing team, models, and myself have removed our name from this project and dissolved the agency as a whole. I am here to address this issue to keep women safe in the event that Mr. René chooses to jumpstart an agency again. You think you know someone, and put your trust in them only to find out they are exactly what your business model is trying to extinguish. I will not be affiliated with Mr. René any longer and am in practical tears that the safety of one of my girls was compromised in this company. My models and team are and will always be my top priority. My loyalty and devotion is to developing them, not stroking the ego of a CEO fraud. Never in a million years would I imagine this person would do such things. Yet as the assistant of Miss René's cane forward with her story, so much more came to light. The man is a good talker, and professional manipulator. I want to send my sincerest apologies and love to Skye, whom was the direct assistant for Stephon René. This poor woman was sexually assaulted while being "developed" and "trained" for the position of assistant. She has my upmost respect, as she was strong enough to come forward with what he did. I will not see her story silenced.
[Attachments of her post from fb below]
In partnership with Mr. René, I was also part of his street team for Reigning Records and his Upper Management group across all businesses. Even after news was brought public of his sexual assault, I considered, maybe this individual had personal demons. We are all human, we make mistakes. Of course regardless, I would pull my name and brand from the company, but I also wanted to see what Mr. René had to say.
My stomach sits in knots, as I see nothing but victim blaming and shaming of this poor woman. Not only from Mr. René, but from his Upper Management as well. Women and men alike, attacking Skye's testimony with vulgar messages. [Attached in comments] Yet, Mr. René has addressed the public with a statement completely opposite of how he is reacting in private. We as the former Miss René's will not stand for this. We will not brush this behavior under the rug. We will not slander or persuade, we are simply addressing the situation. Individuals in business with myself and/or Mr. René are entitled to their own opinion. He was my trusted friend, but I will always stand with the women of Miss René's and victims. His narcissism will not go unnoticed and I refuse to be quiet. This is NOT what we, the former Miss René's, stand for no matter what fame and connections he promised the models. The safety of my team and models along with all women is far more important. I am simply grateful that this came to light before he pressed more one on one "evaluations" with my girls.
Know this, there is one thing Mr. René did right, and that was putting together the strongest group of women I have ever had the pleasure of working with. This is not the end. I worked to hard on portfolios and modeling preparation to see these girl's careers halt. We are not finished. We are rebranding and pressing forward. This industry needs a trusted agency. This is not the end, simply a new direction.
I have included screenshots of what Mr. René's "connections" have been slandering of this poor girl. Take this info as you please, but if you choose to persue business with any personal under the René name and/or companies, you will be removed from my clientele. I hope a lesson is learned in the wake of this horrible incident.
To summarize, Former Miss René's, Directors, marketing team, and I are no longer in anyway shape or form affiliated with Mr. René. I do not Condone this behavior, and I will not stand for it. This was all done unbeknownst to the photographers, models and collaborators with the company. We will move forward as need be. This is simply a new beginning for my team.
Thank you,
Former Director of Miss René's
Tina Marie
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
ojtheviking:
Stories like these piss me off. I'm glad you're blowing the whistle on that creep. I know you're not intending for this to be a witch hunt as such, but I applaud the fact that you're disclosing this as a warning to others. As for those comments, that is just plain disturbing, that fellow sisters would take the abuser's side in a situation like this is beyond my comprehension. I'd hate to think that they turn a blind eye just to maintain their own chances for business opportunities. Perhaps they were also blinded by the fact that his initial mission statement was to bring together strong women and focus on female empowerment, so the ONE girl that took a stance must have misunderstood the situation in their eyes. Either way, it's fucked up that they so immediately simply brushed it off as if that girl was just being dramatic about the whole thing. SHE FELT UNCOMFORTABLE. That is where the limit goes in any situation. She was not on board regarding his behavior. That's all we need to know in order to show some fucking understanding, and realize that the guy went too far. I agree with what you're saying at the end of your post, though: He did you girls a favor by bringing you together; he inadvertently set himself up for a huge failure, because now, the rest of you, with your strength and abilities, will make sure that something like this won't happen again wherever you are involved. Good for you, too bad for him. Such a loss is the least he deserves.
tina_marie:
These words mean so much to me guys, I shared them with Skye as well. Thank you ♡