Style influencer Matilda Djerf issues apology after toxic workplace exposé
Dec 17, 2024
Popular style influencer Matilda Djerf issued an apology Tuesday following a shocking report on allegations of a toxic workplace at her company, Djerf Avenue.
One employee described working at the company as “psychological terror” in a story published last week by the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet.
“To anyone who I’ve hurt or let down, I want to start off by saying that I’m genuinely sorry,” Djerf wrote in an Instagram post. “I really want to underline that I’m extremely committed to getting it right and to continuing growing.”
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Matilda Djerf (@matildadjerf)
She admitted to not being “the leader and colleague I wish to be,” citing stress, inexperience, “high tempo and naivety.”
Djerf, 27, and her public relations team have not addressed most of the specific allegations in the Aftonbladet report. Eleven current and former employees spoke with the Swedish paper, describing panic attacks and trips home from the office in tears.
According to the report, Djerf had a private toilet in the Djerf Avenue offices for herself and her “favorite” employees. When an unauthorized person accidentally used the toilet, she was forced to clean it.
Other employees said Djerf called a plus-size model in a marketing campaign “so f–king fat in these clothes” and routinely cursed out her workers.
Djerf has 3 million Instagram followers and 1.5 million TikTok followers. In 2023, she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Her company prided itself on promoting models of all shapes and sizes.
“It renders all of their efforts to be inclusive completely performative,” customer Sumi Mrkulic told the BBC. “I actually find it really spineless.”
Djerf said her company continues to make important changes, including hiring “an external organizational psychologist to assess our workplace.”
But her apology and promise to do better didn’t go over well with many Instagram commenters.
“Experience has nothing to do with being a nice human,” wrote fellow fashion influencer Erin Fahey, whose comments had raked up nearly 24,000 likes as of Tuesday evening.