The Model Punched By Rick Owens Was Dropped By His Agency

After unfurling a banner reading "Please Kill Angela Merkel — Not" during Rick Owens' runway show in Paris today, Jera has been dropped from his longtime agency, Tomorrow Is Another Day. Over the phone, however, the agency's founder, Eva Gödel, was quick to downplay Jera's role in the agency. "It was very rude and unintelligent," said Gödel of the incident, "and so disrespectful. I want to distance myself completely from what happened."

Gödel was the casting agent that first discovered Jera, after spotting him on the street. But in the 10 years since, she says, no one but Owens would work with him because he was "crazy" and "unreliable." Rick Owens was always loyal to Jera, Gödel says, seeing him as a muse "even though no one else would book Jera." "He's not a normal model," she adds, "he always was a bit crazy. But I didn't think that crazy."