Life & Style | Victoria’s Secret hires first transgender model

Valentina Sampaio has become the first openly transgender model hired by Victoria’s Secret nearly a year after a top company official was pressured to apologize for implying trans women are off brand.

Sampaio, a Brazilian, has been posting from behind the scenes of a VS Pink campaign to the delight of celebrities who include Laverne Cox.

Cox who is also transgender, posted on one of Sampaio’s photos: “Wow finally!”

Last November, marketing officer Ed Razek of parent L Brands Inc., said in a Vogue interview that the annual Victoria’s Secret angels TV special would never include “transsexuals” because “the show is a fantasy.” He apologized after outrage ensued.

Sampaio was not hired for the show, and the company is rethinking having one at all after ratings sagged last time around.

Kimmel, ‘Apprentice’ producer join to make quiz show

Jimmy Kimmel is among Donald Trump’s late-night gadflies, while producer Mark Burnett showcased the future president on “The Apprentice.” Yet they are going into business together.

Kimmel and Burnett will produce a new ABC game show, “Generation Gap,” described by the network as a comedy quiz show that brings family members together to compete as a team.

Asked about the apparent odd-couple pairing with Burnett at a TV critics meeting Monday, Kimmel downplayed his role in Trump’s election. Observers have suggested that Burnett’s “The Apprentice” helped shape public perception of Trump as a leader.

“There’s no way Mark Burnett has the vision that he imagined that this monster would one day become president,” Kimmel said, echoing the harsh rhetoric he applies to Trump on ABC’s “Live with Jimmy Kimmel!” If Burnett is that prescient, he added, “we should be paying more attention to everything he does.”

ABC says ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ sailing past star’s tweet

ABC says the cast and crew of “Fresh Off the Boat” are ready to get back to work and put star Constance Wu’s anti-renewal tirade behind them.

ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke said Monday the show’s producers have told her everyone involved with “Fresh Off the Boat” took the actress at her word when she apologized.

They have only expressed enthusiasm about starting production this week on season six, which debuts Sept. 27. Burke said she’ll see Wu at the script reading.

The two haven’t spoken since Wu expressed regret for tweeting her disappointment that the show would be back. The “Crazy Rich Asians” star said she was briefly frustrated that its renewal would keep her from a passion project.

Burke told a TV critics meeting she was happy Wu apologized.