Tom Ford is one of the most powerful and respected figures in the fashion industry.
He is renowned for discovering top models, launching iconic fragrances and outfits, and generally being a tastemaker in style and culture. Recently, however, it seems that Tom Ford has had enough of Meghan Markle following a strange incident involving her and the paparazzi at a GQ event this past weekend.
Tom Ford was hosting GQ's annual Man of the Year event in Los Angeles on Friday night. This event is one of the biggest fashion parties of the year, attracting all the A-list celebrities who come to get photographed on the red carpet. Meghan Markle was invited as one of GQ's honorees this year for her philanthropic work with her Archewell Foundation. Tom Ford personally extended the invitation to Meghan, thinking it would be a positive association to have her representing one of their covers. However, Meghan appeared to have different plans behind the scenes to upstage the event.
According to multiple witnesses and photographers at the party, Meghan discreetly contacted the paparazzi agency X17 before arriving. She instructed them to wait around the back entrance of the venue so that she could slip out unnoticed after the main red carpet photos were taken. Sure enough, as the main photographers were distracted by other big-name stars, Meghan slipped away from her security team through a back exit where paparazzi photographers were conveniently waiting with their long lenses. They snapped numerous exclusive photos of Meghan getting out of her SUV, fixing her hair, and waving to the paparazzi with a big smile on her face.
While celebrities often arrange discreet photo ops with paparazzi, doing so at someone else's high-profile event is considered a major faux pas in Hollywood. It's essentially hijacking the spotlight from the event host. This was precisely what upset Tom Ford the most. He felt that Meghan tried to steal attention away from GQ's Man of the Year ceremony by coordinating her own upstaged exit through the back door with the paparazzi. Word quickly spread through the industry about Meghan's actions, and it did not sit well with Tom at all. He was furious that she undermined his event and used the platform he had given her more as a publicity stunt than anything else.
The next morning, Tom Ford made calls to his top editors at GQ and other publications. He told them in no uncertain terms that Meghan Markle was permanently blacklisted from being featured or photographed in any of his fashion spreads going forward. According to sources, Tom said, "Meghan can shill her brand all she wants on her own time, but she's ruined any chance of being affiliated with me or my iconic brands after disrespecting me and my event like that. Consider her persona non grata as far as I'm concerned. No Vogue, GQ, or any other magazines under my sphere of influence will touch her now."
To be cut off by the highly influential Tom Ford is one of the worst career moves Meghan could have made in Hollywood. This effectively ends any possibility of her getting endorsement deals or campaign gigs with some of the biggest luxury fashion houses. Her reputation in the fashion crowd has taken a major hit. This is quite surprising considering how cautious Meghan usually is about her public image. Some speculate that her PR team might have advised her that a covert paparazzi shot would generate headlines and buzz, but it seriously backfired, showing a lack of consideration for the disrespect it showed to her host, Tom Ford.
You have to wonder how this will impact Meghan's relationship with the royal family back in England too. Part of the reason she stepped away was to have more freedom over her public image, but moves like this only serve to remind people that she can't be trusted not to stir up unnecessary drama. At the end of the day, Tom Ford is standing up for the integrity of his events and brand. You don't bite the hand that feeds you in Hollywood. Meghan may have fulfilled her thirst for tabloid coverage in the moment, but it will surely come back to haunt her career going forward without the support and access that Ford provides.
Only time will tell how much longer Meghan's fame will sustain itself without the blessings of the fashion and magazine world she so desperately wants to be embraced by. For now, she has alienated one of the toughest critics who holds a lot of influence: Tom Ford. This is certainly not the best way to start her post-royal career in America.
That wraps up the shocking scoop on Tom Ford blacklisting Meghan Markle after her sneaky paparazzi move at his GQ event. As always, remember to take celebrity gossip stories with a grain of salt until all sides have had a chance to comment. But there's no denying this one has major ramifications in Tinseltown.
