Fashion CEO assaults PETA activists protesting H&M over miserable treatment of sheep by African wool farm

"Sheep beaten and bloodied for wool," read one of the signs, according to Fashionista, "don't buy it." They were removed by security, but not before Kolb restrained them before they could climb onto the runway. He tore their signs away, covered their mouth with his hands, and restrained one woman with his legs.

"Get sheep off the runway!" The activists screamed. Fashionista caught it all.

PETA put out a statement about the Sunday fashion show altercation, saying that their activists were attempting to "peacefully advocate for sheep and expose the cruelty behind the wool industry" and that in response it was the activists who "became targets of violence at the COS catwalk show."

They state that "Rather than allowing the sheep defenders to deliver their message," Kolb "assaulted two of the protesters." They write that "Kolb violently grabbed one protester, held her to the floor, wrapped a leg around her, and covered her mouth and nose with his hand," all while she shouted that the company allows sheep to be "bloodied and beaten for wool."

"Today’s actions show how top people in fashion use violence to silence people who expose how sheep are beaten, bloodied, and violently killed for scarves and sweaters," said the founder of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk.

There were plenty of celebrities present at the showing, including John Boyega, Sharon Stone, Michelle Williams, and Lupita Nyong'o.

PETA asked to speak with Kolb, saying, "As you know, this season, the CFDA’s ban on fur took effect across the Official New York Fashion Week Schedule—a meaningful step demonstrating that New York fashion can leave cruelty behind and continue to lead. We hear that you may have had a role in that progress, which PETA celebrated. Now we must ask that you bring that same willingness to examine the evidence against using wool."

Kolb and CFDA responded with a statement. "Mr. Kolb acknowledged fully that he responded inappropriately in the moment and that the matter should have been handled by security. The CFDA agrees that these disruptions should be handled by the security professionals in place," said CFDA.

Kolb issued his own statement on his social media, saying, "I reacted inappropriately to an incident at a show earlier today. It wasn’t my place to do so. I should have let the security team handle the situation."

By Tuesday, the CFDA released a new statement saying that Kolb was put on leave "pending a full review. The CFDA as an organization is committed to working with dissenting voices to find commonality and is engaged in efforts to move the American fashion industry forward while upholding the values of our membership, including respectful engagement with differing viewpoints."

PETA had specifically targeted COS, which is owned by H&M Group, because they say that the company's "responsible wool" claims are lies. In August, PETA put out a press release to that effect.

They say that while H&M "claims to care about animals," the "sheep are still suffering for the wool on its racks." The animal rights group launched an investigation showing that the sheep used to source the wool on a farm in South Africa were horribly treated.

The investigation, from PETA Asia, "exposed workers kicking, beating, and dragging terrified sheep and leaving them bleeding at a South African wool farm. The farm sells wool through the same certified South African wool pipeline that supplies H&M Group."

The details of the investigation are gruesome and PETA collected what they say is "disturbing footage." That footage, PETA states, "shows workers kicking sheep in the head and body, striking them in the face with shearing equipment, beating them with a piece of wood, and dragging lambs by their legs." The shearing process proved no more humane, they say, noting that they were sheared quickly and carelessly, leaving them bleeding and wounded.

The issue, they say, is that H&M relies "on third-party certifications rather than stop selling wool," even though they have every reason to believe that the sheep are being poorly treated.