Donald Trump Was Banned From a Victoria's Secret Shoot Held at His Own Resort: "You Can't Come..."

As a New York businessman in the 1990s, Donald Trump was a heartthrob and even had a reputation for getting uncomfortably close to curvy models. A book by Lauren Sherman and Chantal cites a Dutch model who recalls when Victoria's Secret approached Trump to shoot their campaign at his Mar-a-Lago resort, they banned him from looking at the glitz and glam. 

Frederique van der Wal, the Dutch model who knew Trump socially, put one condition, "I said, the only thing is, you have to sign a contract that you can't come [to watch the shoot]." The book further confirms that European beauty posed at Mar-a-Lago doorway but Trump was "not lingering around," as per Daily Mail. Van der Wal's request to Trump suggests he fancied models back then. Meanwhile, some young models shared their incidents when he owned the Miss USA beauty pageants. For instance, former Miss Arizona Tasha Dixon complained that Trump would enter her dressing room when she was a contestant in 2001 when she had nothing on. "He just came strolling right in," she recalled in 2016. "There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything. Some girls were topless. Other girls were naked." 

Former Miss New Hampshire Bridget Sullivan echoed the same complaint to BuzzFeed News in May 2016 that it was "shocking" for her to see Trump casually coming in and invading their privacy while they were still getting ready to hit the runway. "The time that he walked through the dressing rooms was really shocking. We were all naked," Sullivan said.

Later, Trump corroborated these claims in 2005 on The Howard Stern Show saying that he carelessly walked backstage while the models were still getting changed. "I'll tell you the funniest is that I'll go backstage before a show and everyone's getting dressed," the ex-president told Stern. 

The 78-year-old explained, "No men are anywhere, and I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant and therefore I'm inspecting it. … 'Is everyone OK?' You know, they're standing there with no clothes. 'Is everybody OK?' And you see these incredible-looking women, and so I sort of get away with things like that." 

In the 1990s, being the heir to a multi-millionaire empire, Trump had access to high-profile soirees. He even hosted several competitions involving young, aspiring models who traveled from around the world. For instance, in 1991, he sponsored Casablancas's competition. He opened the gates of his lavish, chateau-style hotel into the main venue, accommodated the models, and was among the 10 other judges. 

He hosted the competition again in 1992. The young models were boarded in an elite cruise. One of the girls on board was Shawna Lee, then a 14-year-old from a small town outside Toronto, who recalled that the contestants were encouraged to go downstairs and dance for Trump one by one. Lee recalled, "A woman at the agency was pushing me. I said to her, 'I don't see why me going down the stairs and dancing has anything to do with me becoming a model.' I knew in my gut it wasn't right. This wasn't being judged or part of the competition – it was for their entertainment," per The Guardian.