The INSIDER Summary:

• Alexis Ren is an Instagram model with 7.8 million followers. 
• She works out 5 to 7 days a week and has a strict diet.
• Some of her diet 'don'ts' include no alcohol and no bread. 
• She loves veggie burgers and banana ice cream. 

If you follow Alexis Ren on any social media, you know very well that she has one of the most killer bodies out there. Some say it's her genetics that brings her the toned, tan, and terrific figure, while it also could very well be her incredible, yet strict, dietary and workout routines.

 Between working out 5-7 days a week for 1-2 hours, traveling all around the world, and keeping up with her 6.8 million Instagram followers, Alexis Ren somehow manages to maintain quite the regulated diet anywhere she goes that primarily consists of veggies, fruit, protein bars and practically anything that's organic or raw. Sound appetizing?

Now, I'm not encouraging you readers to follow in the model's footsteps because I'm sure it certainly isn't easy eliminating all your usual sweets and treats, although having a body as banging as hers would be pretty nice. (And I know there are some of you out there that think this is your one and only shot at finding you your own Jay Alvarrez.) Not trying to burst your bubble, but keep dreaming.

In the meantime, here are a few of Alexis' personal dietary restrictions that just go to show how dedicated she is towards keeping her body and health in tip-top shape.

Diet Outline: The Don'ts

1. NO bread. Duh, she's gluten-free.

2. NO fast food. Good for her! More room for açaí bowls.

3. NO alcohol. Don't know what to say about this one other than that she drinks 2 liters of water every day.

4. NO red meat. Relax, she still eats other meats, just a small amount.

5. NO eating after 7 pm. Guess she's not a night owl.

6. NOT a lot of sugar. This is a given.

7. NO fruit after lunch. Strange, I'd have to ask her about this one.

I know following all these rules and restrictions doesn't sound very fun, but behind all the pain, there's a gain: a body like hers. While Alexis avoids these certain areas regarding her daily consumption, she leaves more room for these hearty food products and snacks.

Diet Outline: The Do's

1. Fruit. Lots of pineapple, strawberries, watermelon, papaya, and mango for endless smoothies and açaí bowls. 

2. Kale chips. "Oh kale yeah!"

3. Vegan protein powder. Pshh, like her workout schedule isn't enough?!

4. Trail mix (without M&M's). C'mon, that's like the only part I eat.

5. Banana ice cream. She calls it ice cream, while I call it as I see it—bananas blended with almond milk.

6. Salad (with lemon and pepper). At this point, there aren't enough salads in the world for that kind of body.

7.  Veggie burgers (wrapped in lettuce with avocado). "It's an avocado. Thanks!"

So, what do you think? Do you have what it takes to follow in Alexis Ren's impressive dietary footsteps? 

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• US President Donald Trump founded a modeling agency in 1999.
• Business Insider interviewed two former Trump models who spoke about their experiences working with the agency. They talked about business practices that included lying about their professions to customs agents. One of the two models said she was left in debt to the agency.
• Referring to the industry as a whole, one of the models told Business Insider: "There's quite a bit of exploitation of young girls going to America illegally and being overcharged for apartments and making very little money."

For fashion models around the world, making it to New York Fashion Week is a dream. That was the case for two young models from the Netherlands, whose Dutch agency coordinated with Trump Models to bring them to the US in the mid-2000s. They were 17 and 19 years old at the time and had never heard of Donald Trump.

One of the two models now says she's ashamed that her name was ever connected to his brand. Both women say the agency asked them to lie about their profession and to concoct stories to avoid alerting Customs and Border Protection agents to their intention to work in the US without authorization.

Their account of what it's like to work as a model in New York — including that they were not paid adequate wages and were housed in cramped, dorm-like apartments — could be said about much of the industry and do not apply only to foreign models. But President Trump has made an anti-immigration campaign an early hallmark of his presidency. He is focused on those who are working illegally in the US and foreign workers who could be displacing Americans. The women Business Insider spoke with fit both descriptions.

The two models spoke on condition of anonymity. One said she was trying to get a work visa, and the other did not want to use her name because she feared repercussions for speaking out. The details they gave matched those given by other models as reported by Mother Jones and CNN last August.

Trump Models did not respond to several requests for comment about the allegations.

Trump's foray into the modeling business

In 1999, Trump decided to extend his business empire into the world of fashion, opening the New York-based agency that bears his name. Trump had previously been married to professional model Ivana Trump, and he was dating then model Melania Knauss, whom he would marry, but this was Trump's first step into the business side of the industry.

Today, Trump Models represents more than 100 women, which, along with its main line of talent, includes a "development" line, which focuses on new talent, and a "legacy" line, which represents more experienced models. Trump Models' website says that the agency "is the brainstorm and vision of owner, Donald Trump."

Last May, when the Federal Election Commission released Trump's 104-page personal financial disclosure, it was revealed that Trump had generated a nearly $2 million dollar profit from the modeling agency, and Mother Jones reported that Trump owned an 85% stake in the company at the time. Before the inauguration, Trump announced that his business holdings would be placed in the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust; however, recent reports show that Trump is still closely tied to the trust and it is listed under his Social Security number for federal tax purposes.

In addition to the usual runway shows, advertising campaigns, editorial spreads, and Fashion Week bookings, Trump Models is closely tied to Trump's other endeavors. The agency and its models have worked with Trump's reality-TV show, "The Apprentice," starring in episodes that included fashion-based challenges. Mother Jones reported that some of the agency's models were discovered through Miss Universe and Miss USA competitions, which Trump purchased in 1996 and has since sold.

Coming to America, without a visa

One of the former Trump models told Business Insider that when she was 17 years old she was represented by a local modeling agency in the Netherlands and was looking for more work to build her portfolio. Her agency coordinated a work trip to New York where she would work with Trump Models. Along with two other models from the same agency, she planned to spend three weeks in the US. They did not have work visas, but they were chaperoned by someone who did.

Upon entering the country to work, without a visa she and the other model Business Insider spoke with were potentially violating immigration laws. Though they were still being paid by their Netherlands-based modeling agency, anyone working and receiving compensation for work done for any time in the US is required to have a work visa.

"I was 17 years old the first time I came [to New York] and one of the girls I was with was 14," one of the models said. "She was told to tell people she was 15 because they know that a lot of people would feel difficulty working with a 14-year-old."

Like many foreign models, her goal was to find a US-based modeling agency that would represent her and help her get a work visa so that she could legally come to the US for jobs. But finding an agency that does both is challenging.

She said their first trip to New York for Trump Models was positive overall. "The first experience was quite good," she said. "They arranged test shoots, got me one job, and a good editorial [shoot]. I was very happy."

The second model agreed: "They were professional like any other agency — everything seemed professional."

After the first model's visit, Trump Models still wasn't ready to help coordinate a work visa for her. The agency said she needed to work on her portfolio more and build her client list. Over the course of a year back home, she took jobs in Europe and Australia. The second trip to New York to work with Trump Models was initiated by the model herself, who was determined to build her portfolio and have the agency sponsor her work visa.

They gladly took her on, she said, but again didn't work out a visa before the trip.

According to accounts from both models, they were specifically instructed by Trump Model agents not to take their portfolio books with them on the plane, as doing so can be a red flag to customs agents. They said Trump Models gave them the address of a booker and told them to tell customs that they were visiting a friend at that address. Under no circumstances were they supposed to tell customs that they were models.

That — and the fact that she'd be going through customs without a chaperone or visa — made the first model freeze up, and she ultimately told customs that she was a model when asked about her occupation. It wasn't an issue, and she was let through.

"I was so nervous, I was sweaty, and I was red. I was so tense," she said.

On this second trip, she stayed at the "model apartments," where many would stay while in town on jobs.

"It's a box. It's tiny," she said. "There's a living room with an open kitchen ... a tiny bathroom, the bedrooms, and in each room there was two bunk beds."

Her plan was to stay for four weeks, but the bookers at Trump Models requested she stay another month once they saw that castings were going well. Homesick and ready to return to her boyfriend in the Netherlands, she stayed for only another two weeks.

Her third and final visit with Trump Models was for Fashion Week later that year. Arriving at a New York City airport right before Fashion Week can be risky for those coming into the city without a work visa. She and the agency strategically planned around this, she said. Her flights, coordinated by a booker at Trump Models, had her visit a friend a week previously "elsewhere in America" and then fly into New York for Fashion Week.

But Fashion Week "didn't go well," and between the cost of the flight and housing, she was in debt to the agency. Most important, her third visit confirmed what she had already thought: "I never believed that Trump Models believed in me, and their lack of effort getting me a visa is proof of that," she said.

Ultimately, her Netherlands-based agency broke off all ties with Trump Models, and she has since started working with another US-based agency that she says is working to get her a visa. The second model has left the fashion world altogether.

'American workers first'

Both models said their experiences with Trump Models are not that different from what they've seen at other agencies.

"It's regular fashion business s--- that you have to put up with. The experience I had with Trump Models ... wasn't different from experiences I've had with other places and other agencies," one said. "Agencies ... fabricate a very beautiful story, and tempt you with it — it works well when you’re younger."

According to the first model's account, the agencies pay for the flight up front, expecting the model to pay them back with jobs once she arrives. That, coupled with housing expenses, means that some models are just breaking even.

"They book you a job with quite a lot of money when you first arrive so you [can] pay back your flight and advance on the apartment," she said. "There's quite a bit of exploitation of young girls going to America illegally and being overcharged for apartments and making very little money."

In the past year, Trump Models has come under fire for the practices — in particular, the alleged visa violations — because of how the business contradicted candidate Trump's public statements on the issue.

One of his campaign pledges was to "establish new immigration controls to boost wages and to ensure that open jobs are offered to American workers first."

More recently, Bloomberg News obtained a draft executive order relating to work visas — the same kind that some modeling agencies would use — that says:

"Visa programs for foreign workers … should be administered in a manner that protects the civil rights of American workers and current lawful residents, and that prioritizes the protection of American workers — our forgotten working people — and the jobs they hold."

Backlash from other models

In August, Mother Jones cited three former Trump Models who said they had worked in the US without proper work visas. Former model Rachel Blais, who is now an advocate against unjust practices in the modeling industry, spoke out about her time at Trump Models, saying they are "the most crooked agency" she's ever worked for.

Model Maggie Rizer, who seems to have had a positive experience with her agent at Trump Models, publicly left the agency on the eve of election night.

She wrote in an Instagram post that "as a woman, a mother, an American and a human being, I cannot wake up Wednesday morning being the least bit related to the Trump brand; win or lose. I owe it to myself and to my children to proudly stand up for what I believe in and that is a world where Donald Trump has no voice for the future of our country."

On Monday, The Guardian reported that there's a budding backlash against Trump Models in the fashion industry — not unlike the consumer boycotts against Ivanka Trump's clothing and shoe line.

Today, the first model who shared her story with Business Insider says she feels ashamed of her involvement with the agency.

"It's embarrassing to say out loud, to say that I've worked for Trump Models," she said.

"Now, looking back knowing that I worked for Donald Trump ... it's really insane, it's really awful. It's bizarre working for someone that you now realize how completely opposite his ethics are of mine," she said. "I despise that, and it's bizarre to know I've made money for him."

If you are a model who was once represented by Trump Models and would like to share your story, please contact Sarah Jacobs at sjacobs@businessinsider.com.

SEE ALSO: Here are all the companies that have ditched Ivanka Trump's brand

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The INSIDER Summary:

• The March issue of Vogue is focused on celebrating diverse women.
• But a series of photos in the magazine show model Karlie Kloss dressed like a geisha and posing with sumo wrestlers and in temples.
• People expressed upset over the cultural appropriation, calling it "yellowface."
• Kloss apologized, saying "I am truly sorry for participating in a shoot that was not culturally sensitive."

While the cover of the March issue of Vogue is all about celebrating diverse women, with plus-size model Ashley Graham and models of color like Liu Wen, Imaan Hammam and Adwoa Aboah all in an embrace, the inside is turning out to be, well, a mess. 

The first sign of that is a new photoshoot starring Karlie Kloss that finds the top model dressed up like a geisha, complete with a powdered white face and red-stained lips. 

In one shot, Kloss, who is white and happens to be dating Jared Kushner's brother, is posing next to a sumo wrestler. In another, she's at a temple. 

Early Wednesday morning, Kloss apologized for the spread, writing on Twitter: "These images appropriate a culture that is not my own and I am truly sorry for participating in a shoot that was not culturally sensitive. My goal is, and always will be, to empower and inspire women. I will ensure my future shoots and projects reflect that mission." 

But that apology came far too late. On Twitter, as the images hit the web, there was immediate backlash, with many saying that what she was doing was not only culturally appropriative but actually yellowface. 

This Kloss shoot also comes at time when many white celebrities have been remarkably nonchalant about posing themselves as Asian people, from Emma Stone agreeing to play an Asian-American woman named Allison Ng in the poorly-received "Aloha" to Scarlett Johansson being cast as the lead in the remake of the Japanese anime "Ghost in the Shell."

Despite her apology, this isn't Kloss' first time apologizing after wearing a culture that's not her own as a costume for fashion's sake. 

At the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Kloss wore an enormous Native American-inspired headdress. 

And for that too she apologized. 

As far as Vogue goes, it's not new to this sort of outrage either, with articles published in the past regarding things like "slave earrings" and photoshoots with models in blackface. 

What's concerning here too is that, much like Hollywood's love of casting white women as Asian women rather than Asian women, there are plenty of Japanese models who could have been put in Kloss' place. Like Chiharu Okunugi or Rola, both of whom have already been featured in Vogue. 

But no. Vogue decided to cast one of the most popular white models in fashion and give itself yet another scandal. 

Mic has reached out to Vogue for comment.  

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Disclaimer: Do not attempt to try this

Russian model and Instagrammer, Viktoria Odintsova, held onto her male friend as she dangled around 1,000 ft above ground from a Dubai skyscraper as part of a photoshoot

The daring stunt, which has been branded "reckless" by some of her fans was filmed from the top of the Cayan Tower in Dubai.

The video was first shared on Instagram to her 3.2 million followers.

Produced by Joe Daunt

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The INSIDER Summary:

• Hunter McGrady is a 23-year-old model who's known for being outspoken about the importance of loving your body.
• The phrase "real women" has been thrown around a lot and she has something to say about it.
• McGrady argues that all women are real women and whatever shape or size your features are should not make you any less of a women.

At just 23 years old, model Hunter McGrady has built a modeling career around breaking the rules, entering the industry as a size 2 straight-size model, and then ultimately becoming a plus-size model, who's now a size 16. She's found success modeling for Lane Bryant and Sports Illustrated, while also being hugely outspoken about the importance of loving your body, no matter what size. 

And now she has something important to say about the phrase "real women," the hotly contested term that's still used to this day. 

In an interview with Teen Vogue, McGrady broke down the real problem with the idea that one woman can be considered a "real woman," while others are left out. 

"You know, people have said to me, 'Oh my god, finally, a real woman with curves!,' and that to me is just not a compliment," McGrady said. "For me I'm like, 'What do you mean, a real woman? A real woman is a size 0 to 22 or 24 and everything in between and more.'" 

"Just because I am saying I've gotten boobs and whatever doesn't mean that when I was size 2, I wasn't a real woman," she continued. "I think that all women are beautiful, and we have to accept that and lift each other up and be confident for one another, and for all sizes."

After all, being tall and thin doesn't make a woman any less of a woman, just like having a curvier physique doesn't make a woman more of a woman either. 

Real women are, really, just women. 

That's the real takeaway from this debate that's been brewing for years now. It's just taken a while for some publications to realize what they're insinuating when they use the term "real women," like Redbook did in 2015 for its "Real Women, Real Style Tips" issue and BuzzFeed did that year too when it used the headline "Here's what Victoria's Secret swimsuits look like on real women" on Facebook, which caused controversy back then too. 

Hopefully though, with a woman like McGrady on the case, more outlets will smarten up when it comes to the idea that being a thin woman — or being a curvier woman — doesn't affect your woman status at all.  

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Trump Models, the modeling agency that President Trump founded in 1999, is closing.

A Trump Organization spokesperson told the New York Post Friday evening: "On the heels of the recent sale of the Miss Universe Organization, the Trump Organization is choosing to exit the modeling industry."

"While we enjoyed many years of success, we are focused on our core businesses in the real estate and golf industries and the rapid expansion of our hospitality division."

The news of the closure comes soon after more lengthy reports that the agency had been struggling. Sources within the modeling industry had told Mother Jones that Trump Model employees were "scrambling to get out," and earlier this month, a former manager at the agency left to create his own.

Earlier this year, Business Insider interviewed two former Trump models. They spoke candidly about their experiences working with the agency, saying that they were told to lie about their professions to customs agents. One of the two models said she was left in debt to the agency.

The agency was founded by Trump in 1999, and according to his most recent financial disclosures, he owned an 85% stake in the company. 

SEE ALSO: 2 models who once worked for Trump's doomed agency share what it was like for them

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NOW WATCH: How designers around the world Photoshopped this model when they were told to make her beautiful

• US President Donald Trump founded a modeling agency in 1999.
• In February, Business Insider interviewed two former Trump models who spoke about their experiences working with the agency. They talked about business practices that included lying about their professions to customs agents. One of the two models said she was left in debt to the agency.
• Referring to the industry as a whole, one of the models told Business Insider: "There's quite a bit of exploitation of young girls going to America illegally and being overcharged for apartments and making very little money."
• A statement released by the Trump Organization indicated that the agency would close soon. Many within the fashion industry had called for a boycott of Trump Models.

For fashion models around the world, making it to New York Fashion Week is a dream. That was the case for two young models from the Netherlands, whose Dutch agency coordinated with Trump Models to bring them to the US in the mid-2000s. They were 17 and 19 years old at the time and had never heard of Donald Trump.

One of the two models now says she's ashamed that her name was ever connected to his brand. Both women say the agency asked them to lie about their profession and to concoct stories to avoid alerting Customs and Border Protection agents to their intention to work in the US without authorization.

Their account of what it's like to work as a model in New York — including that they were not paid adequate wages and were housed in cramped, dorm-like apartments — could be said about much of the industry and do not apply only to foreign models. But President Trump has made an anti-immigration campaign an early hallmark of his presidency. He is focused on those who are working illegally in the US and foreign workers who could be displacing Americans. The women Business Insider spoke with fit both descriptions.

The two models spoke on condition of anonymity. One said she was trying to get a work visa, and the other did not want to use her name because she feared repercussions for speaking out. The details they gave matched those given by other models as reported by Mother Jones and CNN last August.

According to a statement that was released by the Trump Organization to the New York Post Friday evening, the company plans to "exit the modeling industry," though it did not provide a timeline for its closure. 

"While we enjoyed many years of success, we are focused on our core businesses in the real estate and golf industries and the rapid expansion of our hospitality division," a spokesperson told the Post. 

 Trump Models did not respond to Business Insider's requests for comment about the former models' allegations or the agency's closing. 

Trump's foray into the modeling business

In 1999, Trump decided to extend his business empire into the world of fashion, opening the New York-based agency that bears his name. Trump had previously been married to professional model Ivana Trump, and he was dating then-model Melania Knauss, whom he would marry, but this was his first step into the business side of the industry.

Today, Trump Models represents more than 100 women, which, along with its main line of talent, includes a "development" line, which focuses on new talent, and a "legacy" line, which represents more experienced models. Trump Models' website says that the agency "is the brainstorm and vision of owner, Donald Trump."

Last May, when the Federal Election Commission released Trump's 104-page personal financial disclosure, it was revealed that Trump had generated a nearly $2 million dollar profit from the modeling agency, and Mother Jones reported that Trump owned an 85% stake in the company at the time. Before the inauguration, Trump announced that his business holdings would be placed in the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust; however, recent reports show that Trump is still closely tied to the trust and it is listed under his Social Security number for federal tax purposes.

In addition to the usual runway shows, advertising campaigns, editorial spreads, and Fashion Week bookings, Trump Models is closely tied to Trump's other endeavors. The agency and its models have worked with Trump's reality-TV show, "The Apprentice," starring in episodes that included fashion-based challenges. Mother Jones reported that some of the agency's models were discovered through Miss Universe and Miss USA competitions, which Trump purchased in 1996 and has since sold.

Coming to America, without a visa

One of the former Trump models told Business Insider that when she was 17 years old she was represented by a local modeling agency in the Netherlands and was looking for more work to build her portfolio. Her agency coordinated a work trip to New York where she would work with Trump Models. Along with two other models from the same agency, she planned to spend three weeks in the US. They did not have work visas, but they were chaperoned by someone who did.

Upon entering the country to work, without a visa she and the other model Business Insider spoke with were potentially violating immigration laws. Though they were still being paid by their Netherlands-based modeling agency, anyone working and receiving compensation for work done for any time in the US is required to have a work visa.

"I was 17 years old the first time I came [to New York] and one of the girls I was with was 14," one of the models said. "She was told to tell people she was 15 because they know that a lot of people would feel difficulty working with a 14-year-old."

Like many foreign models, her goal was to find a US-based modeling agency that would represent her and help her get a work visa so that she could legally come to the US for jobs. But finding an agency that does both is challenging.

She said their first trip to New York for Trump Models was positive overall. "The first experience was quite good," she said. "They arranged test shoots, got me one job, and a good editorial [shoot]. I was very happy."

The second model agreed: "They were professional like any other agency — everything seemed professional."

After the first model's visit, Trump Models still wasn't ready to help coordinate a work visa for her. The agency said she needed to work on her portfolio more and build her client list. Over the course of a year back home, she took jobs in Europe and Australia. The second trip to New York to work with Trump Models was initiated by the model herself, who was determined to build her portfolio and have the agency sponsor her work visa.

They gladly took her on, she said, but again didn't work out a visa before the trip.

According to accounts from both models, they were specifically instructed by Trump Model agents not to take their portfolio books with them on the plane, as doing so can be a red flag to customs agents. They said Trump Models gave them the address of a booker and told them to tell customs that they were visiting a friend at that address. Under no circumstances were they supposed to tell customs that they were models.

That — and the fact that she'd be going through customs without a chaperone or visa — made the first model freeze up, and she ultimately told customs that she was a model when asked about her occupation. It wasn't an issue, and she was let through.

"I was so nervous, I was sweaty, and I was red. I was so tense," she said.

On this second trip, she stayed at the "model apartments," where many would stay while in town on jobs.

"It's a box. It's tiny," she said. "There's a living room with an open kitchen ... a tiny bathroom, the bedrooms, and in each room there was two bunk beds."

Her plan was to stay for four weeks, but the bookers at Trump Models requested she stay another month once they saw that castings were going well. Homesick and ready to return to her boyfriend in the Netherlands, she stayed for only another two weeks.

Her third and final visit with Trump Models was for Fashion Week later that year. Arriving at a New York City airport right before Fashion Week can be risky for those coming into the city without a work visa. She and the agency strategically planned around this, she said. Her flights, coordinated by a booker at Trump Models, had her visit a friend a week previously "elsewhere in America" and then fly into New York for Fashion Week.

But Fashion Week "didn't go well," and between the cost of the flight and housing, she was in debt to the agency. Most important, her third visit confirmed what she had already thought: "I never believed that Trump Models believed in me, and their lack of effort getting me a visa is proof of that," she said.

Ultimately, her Netherlands-based agency broke off all ties with Trump Models, and she has since started working with another US-based agency that she says is working to get her a visa. The second model has left the fashion world altogether.

'American workers first'

Both models said their experiences with Trump Models are not that different from what they've seen at other agencies.

"It's regular fashion business s--- that you have to put up with. The experience I had with Trump Models ... wasn't different from experiences I've had with other places and other agencies," one said. "Agencies ... fabricate a very beautiful story, and tempt you with it — it works well when you’re younger."

According to the first model's account, the agencies pay for the flight up front, expecting the model to pay them back with jobs once she arrives. That, coupled with housing expenses, means that some models are just breaking even.

"They book you a job with quite a lot of money when you first arrive so you [can] pay back your flight and advance on the apartment," she said. "There's quite a bit of exploitation of young girls going to America illegally and being overcharged for apartments and making very little money."

In the past year, Trump Models has come under fire for the practices — in particular, the alleged visa violations — because of how the business contradicted candidate Trump's public statements on the issue.

One of his campaign pledges was to "establish new immigration controls to boost wages and to ensure that open jobs are offered to American workers first."

Backlash from other models

In August, Mother Jones cited three former Trump Models who said they had worked in the US without proper work visas. Former model Rachel Blais, who is now an advocate against unjust practices in the modeling industry, spoke out about her time at Trump Models, saying they are "the most crooked agency" she's ever worked for.

Model Maggie Rizer, who seems to have had a positive experience with her agent at Trump Models, publicly left the agency on the eve of election night.

She wrote in an Instagram post that "as a woman, a mother, an American and a human being, I cannot wake up Wednesday morning being the least bit related to the Trump brand; win or lose. I owe it to myself and to my children to proudly stand up for what I believe in and that is a world where Donald Trump has no voice for the future of our country."

In February, Refinery29 reported that various groups of people in the fashion industry, including casting directors, makeup artists, and hair stylists, were calling for a full boycott of Trump Models.

Today, the first model who shared her story with Business Insider says she feels ashamed of her involvement with the agency.

"It's embarrassing to say out loud, to say that I've worked for Trump Models," she said.

"Now, looking back knowing that I worked for Donald Trump ... it's really insane, it's really awful. It's bizarre working for someone that you now realize how completely opposite his ethics are of mine," she said. "I despise that, and it's bizarre to know I've made money for him."

If you are a model who was once represented by Trump Models and would like to share your story, please contact Sarah Jacobs at sjacobs@businessinsider.com.

SEE ALSO: Trump's controversial modeling agency is shutting down

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How designers around the world Photoshopped this model when they were told to make her beautiful

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The INSIDER Summary:

• Tess Holliday is a size-22 model who champions body positivity.
• She recently had an Uber ride, but her driver fat-shamed her, according to Holliday.
• She said he asked about her cholesterol and if she's healthy.
• She posted to social media about the experience.

Model Tess Holliday has been a longtime champion of body positivity, making history as the first size-22 model on the cover of People and even launching a hashtag — #EffYourBeautyStandards— which calls on people to respect and appreciate their bodies, no matter their size or shape.

But still, even now, Holliday is forced to defend her body — and her health. 

This was made clear by a video Holliday posted on both Instagram and Facebook, showing her getting questioned about her weight and health by an Uber driver. 

After you hear the driver say the word "cholesterol," Holliday can be heard responding: "My cholesterol's fine I'm perfect. Yup, I'm healthy." 

"Hey Uber I don't pay more to use your 'black car' service to be told that there's no way I could possibly be healthy because I'm fat & then questioning it," Holliday wrote in the caption. "No one should have to tolerate this at any level of the services you offer." 

After this altercation, Holliday is vowing to never use Uber again. 

"I'm fat. I also have a fat wallet & will no longer be using your services. Ever," Holliday wrote. "Also after I told him I was healthy he turned the radio off & changed the subject." 

According to Holliday, she posted the video in an effort to show what she deals with daily and "why this behavior is unacceptable from anyone." 

Plenty of people were immediately supportive of Holliday, writing things like "It's her body, her choices and her business," on Instagram. But plenty others too questioned Holliday posting the video in the first place, and calling for an Uber boycott. "Sorry dear but it's not the company that was at fault here, it's 1 driver. Give me a break!" one commenter wrote. 

So Holliday ended up defending her decision to post the video on Twitter.

"To everyone that keeps saying, 'Well we don't know the full conversation,'" Holliday wrote, "I say REALLY?! He wasn't 'curious'  he was shaming me. End of story."

"I own a car, I have a driver but was in a situation where I needed to use Uber," Holliday confirmed. 

In a comment to Mic, Holliday said that Uber has reached out since her original post, but didn't really give her what she wanted. 

"Uber did reach out, they called me yesterday out of the blue to say they were sorry and refunded my trip, but that's not what I wanted," Holliday said. "I wanted assurance they would properly train their drivers to ensure this doesn't happen again at any level of their service but all they said was that it was unacceptable behavior and goes against the code of conduct the drivers agree to before working for uber. I'm still really disappointed."

The kind of shaming Holliday experienced in this case stems from this idea that women who are plus sized are inherently unhealthy. 

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NOW WATCH: People are outraged by this shocking video showing a passenger forcibly dragged off a United Airlines plane

An American man who became famous as the "hottest convict ever" has reportedly been deported from the UK hours after arriving into Heathrow.

Jeremy Meeks, 32, of Stockton, California, shot to fame in 2014 when police - who arrested him for gun charges - posted his mug shot online.

The post went viral as hundreds of thousands of people swooned over him, nicknaming him the "hottest convict ever""blue-eyed bandit" and "jail bae."

The 32-year-old father-of-two, who signed a modelling contract with White Cross Management on his release in 2016, was set to spend this week in London where he had been due to shoot a series of magazine covers.

According to Meeks’ manager Jim Jordan, he was detained by UK border officials on arrival to Heathrow this morning.

He was, it is claimed, then banned from entering the country.

His manager insists he was carrying the correct paperwork and a letter signed by his parole officer.

Jordan told the Mail Online: "We went into the UK and we went through immigration and they detained Jeremy.

"He wasn’t arrested but they deported him out of the country.

"They wouldn’t let him come into the country. He is really upset. He was police-escorted onto the plane."

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.

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NOW WATCH: Animated map of what Earth would look like if all the ice melted

The INSIDER Summary:

• Kendall Jenner gave a recent interview on famed photographer Mario Testino's podcast.
• During the 10-minute interview, Testino never asked the model about the recent Pepsi and Vogue India controversies she was embroiled in.
• Instead, Jenner talked about modeling, meeting Justin Bieber, and how she became friends with the Hadids.

An interview with Terry Gross it wasn't. On Friday, model Kendall Jenner, fresh off a particularly bad April that doesn't show signs of immediate rebound, sat down with her friend Mario Testino for a brief 10-minute interview on his podcast "On the Sofa With..."

Past guests for the famed photographer have included models Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne as well as designer Michael Kors, so Jenner's appearance seemed par for the course.

But rather than address any of her recent controversies, discuss the ongoing issue of diversity in fashion, or get her thoughts on Caitlyn Jenner's new book, which spendsa great deal of time bashing her mother, they spent the interview looking at old photos of Jenner, none of which we could see.

The biggest takeaway from the interview: Kendall Jenner may be the most boring among her family— which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The other big takeaway will undoubtedly be this head-scratching quote: "I don't get to be hot very often." This coming from a woman who wore couture lingerieto the Met Gala earlier in May and has entire articles dedicated to her "most memorable nearly-naked moments."

But enough about that, below are the seven biggest and most boring quotes from her interview with Testino, during which time Jenner reveals nothing particularly revealing or interesting about her life as one of the most recognized faces in fashion — and perhaps the world.

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The INSIDER Summary:

• Kaia Gerber talks about her favorite beauty products and what it's like having Cindy Crawford for a mom.
• She says, "The worst part is how beautiful she is. I don't even want to be in a photo next to her because she's incredible."
• Kaia, at only 15, is an upcoming model who is currently staring in a Marc Jacobs beauty ad.

I've had some nightmare interviews with celebrities and models throughout my career. A famous singer once told me, "You have three minutes, make it quick," while snapping her finger. A reality TV star kept me waiting for over an hour, then refused to make eye contact or shake my hand. A major model only spoke to me backstage through her assistant — as though we were playing Telephone.

Kaia Gerber, daughter of Cindy Crawford and the face of Marc Jacobs Beauty, stands in stark contrast. At a Fashion Week party celebrating the makeup brand's new Highliner Matte Gel Eye Crayons, Gerber (along with her entire family) posed for selfies, introduced herself to just about everyone in the packed room, and graciously thanked each of us for coming. She's exactly the kind of model we think deserves the prefix 'super.' Oh, and she's only 15.

Below, she chatted with us about the social media generation, her famous family, and more.

What's the best — and worst — part of having a supermodel for a mom?

"The best part is all the advice she can give me. The worst part is how beautiful she is. I don't even want to be in a photo next to her because she's incredible. She doesn't seem to age, which is not fair."

What do you always steal from her bathroom?

"I used to have to steal her Marc Jacobs beauty products because I didn't have any of my own, but now I have a few, so I don't have to do that anymore."

How is your generation redefining the term 'model'?

"I just don't think it's so exclusive now. I kind of think that anyone who has an interest in modeling can pursue it and I think it's an amazing thing that Instagram and all these social media platforms have made it so girls can get themselves out there."

How do you hope this new class of models changes the industry?

"I just hope that people see models as not so untouchable and more relatable, since they can see into your everyday life rather than just seeing you on the cover of a magazine in full hair and makeup."

Do you feel a lot of pressure with social media and photo filtering apps and having to be "on" 24/7?

"I mean, I think I'm really careful about what I post, but at the same time, I'm 15 years old. I don't feel pressure to be perfect all the time, because nobody is and I think I almost respect people who show off their imperfections more because you can relate to them. When I see Instagram [posts] that are really perfect, it's hard to respond to that. You want to see more."

Who are you inspired by that's your age?

"I think she's younger than me, but Millie Bobby Brown who plays Eleven in Stranger Things. I think she's the greatest person ever and I want to be her when I grow up even though I'm pretty sure I'm older."

What are your some of your favorite beauty products?

"Ouai is really good for hair; they have really good dry shampoo. I just try to keep my skin bare — I wash it morning and night with whatever. And now, getting into Marc Jacobs, I see how good it really is and I'm so glad I'm working with a brand that I actually support and use every day."

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NOW WATCH: 15 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do

The INSIDER Summary:

• Bianca Balti has been modeling for 12 years has done numerous campaigns, but didn't always used to be comfortable telling people what she does.
• Balti used to be ashamed to tell people she was a model because of the stereotype that models don't eat or do anything.
• At 32, her career isn't slowing down and seems to only be growing and expanding to new levels of success.

Bianca Balti has been modeling for 12 years, done campaigns with Dolce & Gabbana and L'Oreal, had two children, and, as of 2017, been named Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Edition's Rookie Of The Year. Rookie Of The Year (a title for models who have never appeared in SI before) is a big deal, even for a model who's been in the industry for over a decade. Past recipients of the award include Chrissy Teigen and Ashley Graham. But as Balti tells me in an interview, as a mother, and as a woman who has been building her career for years, she has a particularly interesting perspective on the modeling industry.

"I feel like [modeling] is the [job] with the most wrong ideas about it. To me, for a long time, it was almost scary when people would me like, 'what's your job?'" Balti says. "I was ashamed to say I was a model."

Balti has watched the industry change to be more inclusive. She's heard all of the still-prevalent stereotypes about modeling — how they don't eat, or don't really "do anything"— and she's managed to be successful through all of it. But how she views her success and her career now is much different than how she did a decade ago, Balti tells me. In fact, it couldn't be more different.  

Balti tells me that the misconceptions about her career are so prevalent that even her family often questions it. "The funny thing is that even my family, they're like, 'Oh, so what did you do today?' and 'You were not working today.' And I'm thinking like, 'What do you think I do?'"

After 12 years in the industry, Balti is very familiar with the hectic work schedule of modeling. And although she tells me she always makes time for downtime, she emphasizes that even when she's not on a shoot or an interview, there's work in between.

"It is a lot of work. A lot of planning, thinking, making choices, eating on a schedule, staying on top of exercising. Anyway, we're working hard. Not only when we're working, but also the days before and after, we're traveling, we're planning," Balti says. "People think we have such an easy-going job, like we just go in front of a camera. But it takes a lot of preparation and time to take care of business."

While modeling has always been a hectic job, Balti's perspective on the industry and life changed even more when she became a mother.

"My first daughter will be almost 10, so I had her at almost the beginning of my career. But even then, she really made me understand that it was a job, and that it was very important to me to do my best and my job because it was an opportunity for me to give the best opportunities to my daughter," Balti says. "But even more now that we have my second daughter, I was 30 when I had her, and I think it's also an age thing. Everything that comes after that, I'm so very grateful for that even more than was before."

As a mother and a model, Balti has a lot to be proud of. And at 32, Balti's career isn't slowing down at all. In fact, having just been named Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition Rookie Of The Year, it seems to only be growing and expanding to new levels of success.

"... I never expected my career to go on so long. And I feel like it's going strong and it doesn't seem like it's ending, so it's good to be able to realize that I'm lucky, and this is just the cherry on top of the cake."

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NOW WATCH: 9 phrases on your résumé that make hiring managers cringe

The INSIDER Summary:

• A former Playboy model was recently sentenced to 30 days of community service and three years' probation for invasion of privacy.
• Dani Mathers sent a Snapchat of a nude 70-year-old woman in her gym locker room with a body-shaming caption: "If I can't unsee this then you can't either."
• In her first interview since her sentencing, Mathers told ABC News she "never meant to hurt" the woman.
• "I haven't been able to actually meet the woman involved, although I've wanted to," she said. "I don't expect her to forget. I don't expect her to like me. I just, I really want her forgiveness."

Former Playboy model Dani Mathers has been criticized ever since she shared a Snapchat of a nude 70-year-old woman in the changing room of her LA Fitness gym in July, 2016. The model added the body-shaming Snapchat — with the caption, "If I can't unsee this then you can't either"— to her public story; she claimed she intended to send it to a friend.

In addition to being banned from all LA Fitness gyms, the 30-year-old pleaded no contest to invasion of privacy charges, and was sentenced in May to 30 days of community service removing graffiti and three years' probation.

In her first interview since her sentencing, Mathers told ABC News that she hasn't met the woman she insulted to apologize in person.

"I haven't been able to actually meet the woman involved, although I've wanted to," she said. "There's just been a lot of unresolved issues."

Mathers added that she "never meant to hurt" the woman she photographed.  

"I never ever intended on showing the world this photo," she told ABC News. "I hope that she could forgive me. I don't expect her to forget. I don't expect her to like me. I just, I really want her forgiveness."

While it seems unlikely that she will get her forgiveness anytime soon, 2015's Playmate of the Year has apparently learned from her mistake. 

"It's taught me a lot about privacy," she said in the same interview. "I've lost a lot of that myself as well. We've had a lot of paparazzi involved in my family life. I had my privacy taken away after I took someone elses."

It sounds like she won't forget her actions, either. "This is something that I’m never going to forget happened," she said. "I’m going to continue learning and growing from [it]."

It's certainly a change in tone from Mathers, who tweeted less than a month ago that she "never body shamed anyone."

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NOW WATCH: A fashion designer created a transforming bridesmaid dress that fits every body type

The INSIDER Summary:

• Halima Aden made history by being the first hijabi model to grace the cover of Vogue.
• She was photographed wearing various black-and-white outfits with matching headscarves for Vogue Arabia's June issue, which includes a theme that celebrates identity.
• Aden shared the news on Instagram with a photo caption that reads: "That surreal and dreamlike feeling the moment you see yourself on the cover of Vogue Arabia cannot be explained! ... I'm beyond appreciative for the opportunity to grace the June cover!"
• Fans from around world then took to Twitter to express their excitement.

Somali-American model Halima Aden shot to fame when she walked in Kanye West's Yeezy Season 5 fashion show in February and now here she is, already making history by becoming the first-ever hijabi model to snag the cover of a Vogue magazine.

On Vogue Arabia's June cover, Aden poses in patterned black-and-white outfits and headscarves.

Fittingly, Aden's issue is all about "celebrating identity."

Over on Aden's own Instagram, she reflected on the moment. "That surreal and dreamlike feeling the moment you see yourself on the cover of Vogue Arabia cannot be explained!" she wrote. "I'm beyond appreciative for the opportunity to grace the June cover!"

Even before this cover though, Aden, who prefers dressing modestly, was paving the way for women like her. She was the first Somali-American to compete and become a semi-finalist at the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, and she's appeared on the cover of the prestigious fashion glossy CR Fashion Book.

Naturally, her fans are pretty stoked about this achievement.

"My goal is to send a message to Muslim women and young women everywhere that it’s okay to break stereotypes and be yourself," she recently told Vogue. "Always stay true to who you are — barriers can and will be broken!"

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NOW WATCH: A model with a prosthetic arm is shattering beauty standards—she never intended to be in front of a camera

The INSIDER Summary:

• In a recent interview with People, Ashley Graham said: "There are some days I feel fat."
• Her negative use of the word "fat" upset members of the body positive community. 
• "Fat is not a feeling, it is not an emotion and therefore it can not be felt," body positive coach Michelle Elman told INSIDER.
• "By equating fat to feeling insecure, shame, or feeling bad about your body, you are implying that being a fat person is all of these things," she said.

Ashley Graham is often referred to as a body-positive icon. But something the supermodel said in a recent interview with People has left members of the body positive community upset.

CafeMom blogger Lauren Gordon wrote that Graham failed plus-size women the moment she told People: "There are some days I feel fat."

Graham's known for being honest about her body, but by making the word "fat" sound negative, the model disappointed women who have embraced the term as a descriptor of their body type.

As Gordon wrote: "In seven words, Graham crapped all over everything body positivity and fat activism has ever stood for."

That might sound extreme, but Graham's words have clearly made an impact. Other members of the body positive community feel similarly let down by the model.

"Fat is not a feeling, it is not an emotion and therefore it cannot be felt,"body positive activist Michelle Elman told INSIDER, elaborating on her earlier comments to CafeMom. "You either are fat or you aren't. The same goes for the word skinny. Fat is a descriptor, much like you could say someone was a brunette, you can also say someone was fat."

The word "fat" has long been seen as a pejorative one — and that's a problem, Elman said.

"When people say they 'feel fat,' they often mean they feel insecure in their body or are feeling shame about their body but that's a really strong and vulnerable statement to make," she said. "By equating fat to feeling insecure, shame or feeling bad about your body, you are implying that being a fat person is all of these things."

Instead of saying she felt "fat," Graham could have said something else. Elman has a few other suggestions.

"If you mean you are feeling insecure, say that. If you mean you are hating your body, say that," she said. By saying you feel fat, "you are in turn marginalizing fat people," which "feeds into this narrative that all fat people hate their bodies." Which simply isn't true.

The body positivity coach was reluctant to comment personally on Graham, but she had a lot to say about the responsibilities of a body positive role model. (While Graham has become a body positive role model for many people by landing spots on mainstream magazine covers like Sports Illustrated, the model also refers to herself as a "body activist" in her Instagram bio.)

"If you are seen as a role model in body positivity ... I believe it's important to educate yourself about the movement," Elman said. "Body positivity is rooted as a political movement and works to remove the marginalization of oppressed bodies so if you claim to be body positive, you must be body positive for all people, all intersections, all sexualities, all abilities, all races, and ultimately all bodies."

For a moment, Graham let down her body positive supporters. Hopefully, she chooses her words more carefully next time. For many people, the words of an influential curvy model who has broken into the mainstream like Ashley Graham can mean an awful lot.

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NOW WATCH: A fashion designer created a transforming bridesmaid dress that fits every body type

The INSIDER Summary:

• Rheya Swim is making waves in the fashion industry.
• The brand doesn't Photoshop stretch marks or other skin "imperfections."
• Rheya Swim's 21-year-old founder Chloe Madison models the swimsuits, too.
• She couldn't recognize the Photoshopped image of herself modeling the bathing suits.
• In a push for transparency, she fought to make the brand free of Photoshop.
  

Swimwear, like lingerie, is one of those things that is almost always photographed on a model with a so-called "perfect" body, with no cellulite, no lumps or bumps or hair and certainly no stretch marks.

A new swimwear line, Rheya Swim, is quietly changing that.

On its website, the models are indeed thin and svelte and hairless, but stretch marks are in full display. Turns out, this didn't happen by chance. The founder had to fight for it, because as the model herself, she knew what her body looked like.

"It was intentional," Chloe Madison, the founder and designer of Rheya Swim, told Elle. "When we got back photos from retouching it was shocking. I didn't really recognize my body — enhanced to someone else's idealistic version of it. I sent it back and asked for all of that [retouching] to be stripped off and it made me feel better about it."'

In addition to the stretch marks, the skin isn't completely airbrushed either, with noticeable blotchiness.

"There was a level of insecurity over the stretch marks and 'blotchy skin,'" Madison told Elle. "I thought, I wonder if people are going to notice and compare it to other sites where models look completely flawless? But, ultimately I thought it was the right way to go."

Talking about and showing off stretch marks are one of those things that's inching toward the mainstream right now. In the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue this year, for example, there was an ad featuring Denise Bidot, and the stretch marks on her stomach were on full display. Kendrick Lamar has rapped about them, Chrissy Teigen has showed them off and they've even appeared in Target swim campaigns.

With up-and-coming brands particularly like Rheya, with a young designer and founder who's just 21 years old at its helm, it's a positive sign for the future. If these young designers already get it, then maybe the future of fashion will be more inclusive when it comes to showcasing bodies and their many completely natural features.

"[Shoppers] see super photoshopped girls and think that's something they need to be and I didn't really want to celebrate that anymore," Madison told Elle. "I would rather purchase something I could relate to and I could see myself in as opposed to someone that doesn't even look like a real person."

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NOW WATCH: This lingerie company started a movement by nixing Photoshop — hear its president say why

Folarin Alakija, the son of Nigerian oil billionaire Folorunso Alakija, married Iranian model Nazanin Jafarian Ghaissarifar, at the Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, this past weekend in an extremely oppulent ceremony.

Alakija's mother, Folorunso Alakija, is the vice chair of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian oil company, and one of the richest black women in the world, with an estimated fortune of £2.1 billion ($1.68 billion), according to Forbes.

The Daily Mail reported that the wedding cost roughly £5 million.

It was attended by celebrity guests, including Victoria's Secret Model Shanina Shaik, and featured a million white roses, a 12 foot cake, and a live performance from Robin Thicke.

Take a look inside the incredibly lavish fairytale-like ceremony below.

Folarin Alakija, the son of a Nigerian oil billionaire, married Iranian model Nazanin Jafarian Ghaissarifar in an extremely lavish ceremony this past weekend.

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There was truly no expense spared at the the wedding, which is estimated to have cost around £5 million. It took place at Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill and main residence of the Duke of Marlborough.

The venue was adorned with one million white roses. There was also a 12 foot cake.

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Source: Daily Mail.