Disturbing truths

Barrett Pall talks about the dark underbelly of male modeling, says being gay makes it “much harder”

“Being gay in an industry that is run by mostly gay men, you would think that being gay isn’t a problem,” model Barrett Pall says.

Well, think again!

“I learned the hard way that being gay actually makes working as a model much harder.”

Related: We can’t take our eyes off this Turkish male modeling competition. Maybe you can explain why.

In a new video posted to his YouTube channel titled Why It’s Harder Being A Gay Model #MeToo, Pall explains how he thought coming out would help his career. Instead, it ended up being a handicap.

“It just works against you,” he says. “A lot of people who are in positions of power to make these big decisions about who gets cast and gets to do these amazing jobs are still afraid of Middle America’s opinions and largely their spending power.”

Pall also talks about the sexual misconduct accusations lodged against well-known fashion photographers Bruce Weber and Mario Testino.

Related: Condé Nast dumps famous gay photographers after male models share #MeToo stories

He says that often, when it comes to unwanted sexual advances, the attitude seems to be “you’re gay, and they’re gay, and you should be OK with this, and you should like this.”

He calls the whole thing a “sick revenge” and a “game” that powerful gay players in the modeling and fashion industry play.

“When you are going into this industry, there was and still is this underlying agreement that you will do what you have to to book campaigns and work with certain photographers,” he adds.

Watch.

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