Published in print edition 760
On the 18th September, the Debating Society welcomed model Lottie Moss to discuss her experiences of fame, the influence of her sister’s — model Kate Moss — shadow, complications with Ozempic and giving back to society.
In a talk chaired by Matthew Watkins, Moss began by sharing her early experiences in the modelling industry. Having been scouted at her sister’s wedding in 2011, Moss was only 16 when she made her modelling debut — an experience which has shaped an uneasy relationship with the industry ever since.
At first the industry was “glamourous”; Moss jokes about the disconnect between shooting with famous models to appearing at school the next day — but she quickly learnt how to navigate it; “How late to stay at parties and who to speak to in order to do well”. Moss speaks openly about the danger fame can have, explaining “I’ve seen what fame has done to my sister and what it’s done to so many people… attending industry parties at the age of 15 and 16, I was introduced to alcohol and drugs at a very young age and it impacted my life heavily”
“I’ve seen what fame has done to my sister and what it’s done to so many people”
Lottie Moss
Moss has spoken openly in the past about her experiences with addiction and rehab, often stemming from issues within the industry itself and its disregard for individuals; “It’s people around you using you to get certain places in their life, there’s so many pressures in this industry. It never feels like enough and you’re always just craving more and more and more… once they’ve got their money their job is done, they don’t care about the mental health side or what is going on behind the scenes”. She suggests she was never alone in struggling in this sense, claiming “I go to a million events with a million celebrities and none of them have their sh*t together.”
Modelling has changed drastically since Moss started; the money no longer lies solely in big campaigns but in social media with funds being funnelled into channels such as TikTok. The ‘social media effect’ has reshaped the industry with a survey conducted by technology platform Launchmetrics estimated that a single post from influencer and model Gigi Hadid is worth $1.2 million, meaning more traditional campaigns are slowly becoming defunct.
Moss herself broke from the traditional modelling industry, announcing in 2021 her decision to join Only Fans. This has changed the trajectory of her career, with Moss stating “I got shunned after doing OnlyFans” and critiquing the hypocrisy of the industry, particularly the double standards imposed on men and women doing sex work. Using Pamela Anderson’s career as an example, Moss derides the more ambivalent attitude directed at Tommy Lee; “[he] was her partner and no one batted an eyelid at a rockstar with his thing out, but she was shunned for it.”
This hypocrisy reared its head later in the talk when Watkins invited audience questions, with one audience member expressing concern for “lonely men exploited by OnlyFans models.” Moss’s own agent argued this attitude only pushed the blame onto women who were not forcing men to pay but simply proving a service — the porn industry was always going to prevail but at OnlyFans put economic power back into the hands of women. The ensuing debate, summed up by Moss suggesting “They can always go outside and meet people” — hammered her point home; that women’s empowerment frequently comes at the cost of derision.
This double standard was a recurring topic across the talk, with Moss pointing to the toxicity of the media. Only days before her talk at Exeter, Moss was captured by tabloids leaving a club. The same papers which had reported on her time in rehab and struggle with fame, now gleefully mocked her appearance once again. This emphasis on appearance, particularly on weight, has long plagued the modelling industry. Moss’ half-sister, Kate Moss, is renowned for popularising the ‘heroin-chic’ fashion trend which prioritised thinness above else, and it’s a pressure Lottie Moss too has experienced, stating “I felt such pressure in my industry to fit in, it felt like so many jobs weren’t an option if I wasn’t stick thin.” It’s this attitude which has pushed so many celebrities towards experimental drugs such as Ozempic, she states “All these celebrities are one Ozempic, let’s be so real- lana del ray… It peaked when Kim Kardashian came out in that Met Gala dress, the only way she could have that dramatic weight loss was taking Ozempic.” Moss too has experienced the after-effects of that pressure; her use of Ozempic escalated to the point where she was “taking an amount meant for somebody over 100 kilos” and was ultimately rushed to hospital after overdosing.
“I felt such pressure in my industry to fit in, it felt like so many jobs weren’t an option if I wasn’t stick thin.”
Lottie Moss
Coming away from the experience, Moss states “everybody’s obsessed with staying thin and staying on trend and staying relevant… just be you and say what you want to say.” She emphasises her desire to elevate the voices of women in the industry, explaining “I may not have gone to Exeter University or anything like that but I have a voice and I definitely want to change the way people see women.” Her new goal is to “give back as much as [she] can” whilst encouraging others to stay authentic to themselves. It’s an emphasis which is summarised in the last audience question directed at moss, enquiring whether she’d had a ‘brat summer’, to which Moss replied: “Some people aren’t brat and that’s fine.”
