Victoria's Secret sparks backlash after APOLOGIZING to trans woman who complained about her 'thoroughly dehumanizing experience' when staff stopped her trying on bras at the same time as female customers

Victoria's Secret is facing mounting criticism for its handling of a complaint by a trans woman who claims she had a 'dehumanizing experience' at one of its stores. 

A trans woman, using the now private social media handle @Microdragons1 wrote on X, formerly Twitter on Monday: 'I went through a thoroughly dehumanizing experience at Victoria's Secret today due to my status as a trans woman.

'I was trying to find a cute bra at Victoria's Secret, and they made me wait until every cis woman left the dressing rooms before I could go into just one of them. 

'They even made other cis women wait until I'd had my turn so no cis women would be in any of the 5 other rooms,' the transgender woman said in the thread, now unavailable on the platform.  

Victoria's Secret replied to the woman, writing: 'We're sorry to hear about your experience in our store and we would love to speak to you directly,' and provided contact details, Newsweek reported. 

@Microdragons1 later wrote on the platform that 'I just called VS corporate, they're correcting the behavior of this store.'

Multiple women criticized the lingerie maker's response, arguing that it prioritized one trans shopper's experience above women's privacy.

Sall Grover, founder of a female social network called Giggle, wrote on X: 'A Victoria's Secret staff member tried her best to create boundaries because a man with blatantly no regard for boundaries wanted to indulge his fetish in public & now he's complaining about it because he didn't have an adequate audience for his pathetic fetish.

'The fact you need there to be other women in the changing rooms with you or else you cry to corporate speaks volumes,' X user @HazelAppleyard_ wrote.

'It's not affirming enough just to be there? No. You have to make actual women feel uncomfortable in order to get your euphoria boner.' 

'Will @VictoriasSecret budlight itself?' X user @Trestresjolie wrote, referring to when conservatives boycotted the beer brand after collaborating with TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April. 

Some users also pointed out that the account user had taken and posted graphic images of themselves, including in BDSM wear. 

'Look at who you are letting into the intimate spaces of women, in your stores' Leonard Clinton-Williams wrote. 

Adding: 'Your business should be fighting for women. Not doing this.' 

A spokesperson for Victoria's Secret said in a statement: 'We are committed to ensuring a great experience for our customers, so we always welcome feedback. 

'Our associates are focused on providing exceptional customer service, especially during this busy shopping season.'

Victoria's Secret has faced controversy over its position on trans issues in the past.

Back in 2019 the brand hired its first transgender model, Valentina Sampaio, coinciding with the high-profile exit of the company's marketing officer Ed Razek. 

Razek was criticized in 2018 for telling Vogue that transgender and plus size models weren't right for the Victoria's Secret fashion show.

'If you’re asking if we’ve considered putting a transgender model in the show or looked at putting a plus-size model in the show, we have,' Razek told the magazine.

'I don't think we can be all things to all customers. It's a specialty business. It isn't a department store... We market to who we sell to, and we don’t market to the whole world... I don't think we should [have trans models]. The [fashion] show is fantasy. It's a 42-minute entertainment special.'

Those comments led to a barrage of criticism from celebrities like Rihanna and peer competitors like Aerie and Third Love, prompting Razek to apologize for his remarks just days after they were published, Business Insider reported.