Maggie Q Got Real About Her Modeling Career And Didn't Have Great Things To Say
Maggie Q is getting real about her modeling career — and she didn't have great things to say.
The Nikita actor got her start modeling in Tokyo but says the whole experience with the industry was "so toxic and gross," and it's a career that she "would never recommend anybody go into."
Maggie recalled one particular experience with her agency where each week, they recorded models' weight on the wall so that everyone could see if you had gained extra pounds.
"They kept it there so that people could see if you were yo-yoing, going up and down. It was like a wall of shame. If you gained a pound, everyone knew it and could see it. And it was literally, you walked in the door, it was right there after you walked in the door," Maggie told Salon.
She continued, "It was intended to shame you into either never eating, having an eating disorder, or feeling really bad about yourself and it's disgusting. It's really gross."
Maggie noted that she often met the agency's standards, but it was only because she didn't make enough money to properly feed herself.
She also revealed that early in her career she was forced to "kiss ass" to executives in a way that was "demeaning and awful."
"Those people are now sitting in jail and it's really awesome because the abuse was just so rampant and blatant. No one was hiding anything. There are more severe things that were being hidden obviously, but overtly these are not nice people," Maggie shared.
While there was "really not much anyone could do" at the time when those individuals were given so much power, Maggie is grateful that people began speaking up "in numbers."
And even though Maggie had a negative experience in her modeling career, she says she has recently seen a change in the industry for the better.
