Rick Owens Punches Male Model Jera For Protest During Paris Show

Rick Owens, fashion designer, punched a model who used his runway to protest German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the designer’s Spring 2016 show.

Model Holds “Kill Angela Merkel – Not” Sign During Fashion Show

The male model, identified only as Jera, walked down the Parisian runway like a pro before reaching the end of the runway and holding up a white cloth with a handwritten note that read: “Please Kill Angela Merkell – Not.”

Owens was less than pleased with the model’s actions, and quickly told reporters after the show that he did not condone the protest and punched the model when he came off the runway. “It’s a crazy, rogue, f—king model that I punched when he came back out. Please say that I punched him,” he told Women’s Wear Daily.

Early speculation suggested that Owens planned the protest as part of a publicity stunt – last year, Owens put on a runway show in which male models had their penises exposed – but Owens denied the report. “Please, it was not planned…I don’t know what I have to do to tell everybody that,” Owens told another reporter.

Owens also released an official statement to distance himself from the protestor, asking that the media not print the photo of Jera’s message. “Rick Owens does not claim responsibility for the act of protest by a model at the Spring Summer 2016 show. This was an independent statement and does not reflect the opinion of the house of Rick Owens. We kindly request that all media omit or blur this image in the press,” reads the statement.

Owens and Jera reportedly had a friendly relationship and had been working together for the past 12 years. “He’s been my male muse for the past twelve years or something and I think he just felt comfortable enough to do something in a show and I’m furious,” Owens said after the show.

Jera’s political stunt not only ruined his relationship with Owens, it also resulted in him being fired from his modeling agency, Tomorrow Is Another Day. “I don’t want to see him again,” said Eva Goedel, who runs the agency.

Jera’s act of protest have left many scratching their heads. It’s unclear exactly why Jera, who reportedly lives in Germany, felt the need to protest Merkel. “Maybe Jera was drunk. It wasn’t an intelligent statement. It was idiotic. I have no idea. I don’t understand. It is so sad this is what people are talking about, when they should be talking about Rick’s show,” Goedel added in an interview.