Victoria's Secret China show struts on despite controversy

Gigi Hadid and Katy Perry didn't make it but the Victoria's Secret show in Shanghai managed to strut on Monday without them, surviving a controversy over visa issues and a model who slipped and fell during the show.

Fifty-five models walked the catwalk inside the Mercedes-Benz Arena, serenaded by Harry Styles, R&B star Miguel, Tony Award-winner Leslie Odom Jr. and Chinese singer Jane Zhang. Styles sang "Only Angel" and later "Kiwi."

Model Bella Hadid wears a creation during the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Chinese media reported that Hadid and Perry were denied visas.

Bella Hadid, Gigi's sister, appeared in the second act of the show, donning blue feather wings, a black high-neck, push-up bra and topped off with hand painted leather gloves.

Model Adriana Lima wears a creation during the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

In a show segment titled "Goddess," Victoria's Secret models donned massive floor-sweeping silk wings with gold and silver sequined lingerie — and plenty of bling.

Model Lais Ribeiro was charged with the task of carrying 300 carats down the catwalk while sporting the Champagne Nights Fantasy Bra studded with 6,000 gemstones.

Model Lily Aldridge wears a creation during the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Designed by Mouawad, organizers said the bra valued at $2 million took nearly 350 hours to create. It features diamonds, yellow sapphires and blue topaz.

The show ended with a tribute to lingerie designs based on various ethnic and native origins — with models donning rainbow colored feathers and beaded jewelry.

Model Stella Maxwell wears a creation during the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Shanghai-native Ming Xi slipped and fell to her knees, saying afterward she felt "so disappointed with myself." A nearby model helped her up and she said many of the others asked if she was OK. "That's what Victoria's Secret is — everyone loves each other and we have the most beautiful family in the world."

In addition to Hadid, Xi and Ribeiro, the models included Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Karlie Kloss, Lily Aldridge, Elsa Hosk, Jasmine Tookes, Taylor Hill and Martha Hunt.

Model Taylor Hill wears a creation during the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Hadid and Perry were scheduled to take part but bowed out just days before the show.

Hadid's no-show came a few months after Chinese internet users accused her of racist behavior. She had been seen squinting her eyes on an Instagram video.

Observers said Perry caused some controversy in China in 2015 for wearing a sunflower-adorned dress while performing in Taiwan. The flower is an emblem of the island's anti-China movement.

Model Taylor Hill wears a creation during the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

It is not uncommon for entertainers to be denied visas by Chinese authorities for political reasons.

The Global Times, an official newspaper of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, published a commentary on Monday titled "Victoria's Secret models' visa denial is of their own making."

Model Alessandra Ambrosio wears a creation during the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

The story named Hadid and Perry and said celebrities who want a piece of the booming Chinese market need to respect what it said were Chinese values.

"They are lifting a stone only to drop on their own feet due to their ignorance of these issues. Payback was unavoidable. Those who are serious about developing careers in the Chinese market can draw lessons from this case and learn to abide by the rules in China," the newspaper said.

Models Romee Strijd, from right, Candice Swanepoel, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lily Aldridge, Elsa Hosk, wear creations with other models during the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Model Elsa Hosk wears a creation during the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Victoria's Secret's model Alessandra Ambrosio poses with her daughter Anja, at the after party of the Victoria's Secret fashion show inside the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo)

Victoria's Secret's model Adriana Lima reacts at the after party of the Victoria's Secret fashion show inside the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo)

From left to right, Liu Wen, Xi Mengyao, Miguel Jontel Pimentel, Ju Xiaowen, He Sui pose for a photo, at the after party of the Victoria's Secret fashion show inside the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo)

Victoria's Secret's model Karlie Kloss poses for photos at the after party of the Victoria's Secret fashion show inside the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. (AP Photo)

Model Bella Hadid of the United States talks to a woman as she is made up at backstage before the Victoria's Secret fashion show inside the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. The Victoria's Secret fashion show takes place in Shanghai on Monday with performances from Singer Harry Styles and R&B star Miguel. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

LONDON (AP) — The BBC’s top leader and head of its news division resigned over criticism of how the broadcaster edited U.S President Donald Trump’s speech before some of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The scandal leading to Sunday’s resignations is hardly the first controversy to hit Britain’s publicly funded broadcaster — or to topple one of its leaders.

The editorially independent British Broadcasting Corp. was founded in 1922 to be impartial, act in the public interest and be open, transparent and accountable. While it is widely respected for its global news operation and the entertainment and sports programs it produces, it is frequently the source of criticism for its coverage and has also been ensnared in scandals that happened off the air.

Here’s a look at some controversies or scandals that have forced out some of the BBC's leaders:

November 2012: George Entwistle resigned as director-general over the Newsnight program’s decision not to run a report that entertainer Jimmy Savile, one of its most popular presenters who had died the previous year, was a serial sexual abuser of young women. The broadcaster had also wrongly linked a prominent politician to child sex abuse. Entwistle held the job less than two months because he failed to explain lapses that damaged public confidence in the BBC.

April 2023: BBC Chairman Richard Sharp quit after a report found he failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest over his role in arranging a loan more than two years earlier for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Sharp, a former banker, was appointed to the BBC post on the government’s recommendation weeks after helping arrange the line of credit.

2021: Davie apologized after a report found that Martin Bashir had used fake bank records to deceive Princess Diana's brother to land his explosive interview with her in 1995. Davie, who was not at the BBC at the time, offered a full and unconditional apology, along with written apologies to then-Prince Charles and his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

July 2023: Huw Edwards, the highest paid news anchor, was suspended with full pay over allegations he paid a teen for sexually explicit photos. He later pleaded guilty and was given a suspended prison sentence for having unrelated images of child sexual abuse on his phone.

June 2025: BBC is condemned for livestreaming a performance by rap punk duo Bob Vylan, who led crowds at this year’s Glastonbury Festival in chanting “death” to the Israeli military. The BBC's complaints unit later found the broadcast broke editorial guidelines in relation to harm and offense, though it was cleared of breaching impartiality rules or being likely to incite or encourage crime. Davie apologized, saying he deeply regretted “such offensive and deplorable behavior” was aired.

October 2025: Britain’s media regulator sanctioned the BBC for a “materially misleading” documentary on the lives of children in Gaza because it failed to disclose that the father of the teen narrator held a position in the Hamas administration.

November 2025: BBC Director-General Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness resigned after the BBC’s Panorama documentary program misleadingly spliced together parts of Trump’s speech that were delivered over nearly an hour. It appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell,” omitting a section where the president said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

Staff arrive at BBC Broadcasting House in London, Monday Nov. 10, 2025. (James Manning/PA via AP)

The BBC Headquarters in London, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)