Kate Upton claims Guess co-founder grabbed her breasts the first time they met to 'check they were real' before forcibly kissing and touching her

  • The 25-year-old model claims Paul Marciano assaulted and started harassing her when she was 18 on the set of her first professional modeling campaign
  • She publicly accused Marciano of sexual misconduct on social media last week but did not go into detail about specific allegations
  • Upton claimed on Wednesday that Marciano grabbed her breasts in 2010 and allegedly said: 'I'm making sure they're real'
  • She claims he forcibly kissed her face and neck despite her protestations
  • Upton also alleges that she was fired from the Guess shoot after she refused to let him into her hotel room
  • The model said someone called her agency to say that she had gotten fat 

By Emily Crane For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:42 EST, 7 February 2018 | Updated: 18:47 EST, 7 February 2018

Kate Upton has shed light on allegations that Guess co-founder Paul Marciano sexually harassed her, claiming he grabbed her breasts the first time they met to make sure they were real.

The 25-year-old model publicly accused the fashion designer of sexual misconduct on social media last week but did not go into detail about specific allegations. 

In an interview with TIME magazine on Wednesday, Upton claimed Marciano assaulted and started harassing her when she was 18 on the set of her first professional modeling campaign.

Upton said Marciano had asked to meet with her after the first day of shooting for a Guess Lingerie campaign in 2010. 

Kate Upton has claimed that Guess co-founder Paul Marciano assaulted and started harassing her when she was 18 on the set of her first professional modeling campaign in 2010

Kate Upton has claimed that Guess co-founder Paul Marciano assaulted and started harassing her when she was 18 on the set of her first professional modeling campaign in 2010

'As soon as I walked in with photographer Yu Tsai, Paul came straight up to me, forcibly grabbed my breasts and started feeling them - playing with them actually. After I pushed him away, he said, 'I'm making sure they're real',' she said. 

'Despite doing everything I could physically do to avoid his touch throughout the meeting, he continued to touch me in a very dominating and aggressive way, grabbing my thighs, my arms to pull me closer, my shoulders to pull me closer, my neck, my breasts, and smelling me.'

Upton claims Marciano had asked the photographer to leave, but the model quickly sent Tsai a text message urging him not to go - but that allegedly didn't stop the designer's advances. 

'At one point he forcibly grabbed the back of my head so that I could not move and started kissing my face and my neck. I remember not wanting to say 'Get off of me' because I didn't want to open my mouth to say anything because I didn't want him to be able to put his tongue in my mouth,' she said.

'I had two options: do everything I could to wiggle away and avoid his pursuit, or punch the CEO of Guess. So I decided to just wiggle away.'

Marciano described the allegations as 'absolutely false' and 'preposterous.' 

'I have never been alone with Kate Upton,' he said. 'I have never touched her inappropriately. Nor would I ever refer to a Guess model in such a derogatory manner.

'I fully support the #metoo movement. At the same time, I will not allow others to defame me and tarnish my reputation. I have pledged to Guess and its Board of Directors my full support and cooperation with a fair and impartial investigation.' 

The 25-year-old model publicly accused Marciano of sexual misconduct on social media last week but did not go into detail about specific claims

The 25-year-old model publicly accused Marciano of sexual misconduct on social media last week but did not go into detail about specific claims

Upton was pictured in Pebble Beach, California on Wednesday with her husband Justin Verlander on the same day the allegations surfaced in TIME magazine

Marciano, pictured last week, described Upton's claims as 'absolutely false' and 'preposterous'. He claims he was never alone with her and never touched her inappropriately

Marciano, pictured last week, described Upton's claims as 'absolutely false' and 'preposterous'. He claims he was never alone with her and never touched her inappropriately

Photographer Yu Tsai confirmed to TIME that he witnessed the alleged harassment. 

Upton went on to claim that Marciano had asked to walk her back to her hotel room following the shoot but she immediately declined.

'The only thing I was thinking is if he touches me like that in public, I can't imagine what he'd try to do in private,' Upton said.

She claims Marciano called repeatedly asking to visit her at the hotel and said that he was already down in the lobby. 

Upton said the following day she was told she had been fired from the shoot. 

'Someone had called my agency to say I had gotten fat and would not be needed on set,' she said.

'I was devastated, especially because at this point no one from Guess had even seen me.'  

Upton, who worked on several Guess campaigns after the initial encounter, went on to say that Yu Tsai essentially became her protector and ensured she was never alone with Marciano.

But she claims Yu Tsai was eventually fired as well in what she describes as retaliation for helping her. 

Upton posted the above tweet on Twitter last week calling out Guess co-founder Paul Marciano

Upton posted the above tweet on Twitter last week calling out Guess co-founder Paul Marciano

She then posted a screenshot of her tweet on Instagram with a caption saying he shouldn't be allowed to use his power in the industry to harass women

She then posted a screenshot of her tweet on Instagram with a caption saying he shouldn't be allowed to use his power in the industry to harass women

Upton, pictured last week in New York on the day she made the accusations, claims Marciano forcibly kissed her face and neck

Upton, pictured last week in New York on the day she made the accusations, claims Marciano forcibly kissed her face and neck

Upton claims on her final Guess shoot in 2011 that Marciano was outwardly rude and degrading the entire time.

'He said I was 'disgusting' and started telling people how unprofessional I was by spreading rumors that I was drunk on set and partying every night, which of course I wasn't,' she said.

'I was then told to leave because Paul had said: 'Get that fat pig off my set'.'

When Guess asked her to do the 2012 campaign and offered her $400,000 - the highest paying offer at the time - Upton says she turned it down to avoid interacting with Marciano. 

'It took a huge toll on my confidence and self-worth. I wanted to quit modeling. I constantly blamed myself after it happened,' Upton said.

'I wondered if it was how I was presenting myself or what I was wearing. I started slumping my shoulders to hide my breast size, wearing baggy clothes, started despising my own body.'

Upton, who went on to become extremely successful because of her Sports Illustrated cover, said she got through the ordeal thanks to the support of family and friends.  

'I’m sick of being silenced and expected to sweep everything under the rug. I’m sick of being expected to laugh off these aggressive advances and accept the power imbalances that exist. I’m sick of being expected to endure all of this while being polite and professional through it all,' she said.

'Paul used his power to make me feel insecure and powerless, but I’m not going to let him intimidate me anymore. These men think they are untouchable, but times are changing.'

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