Steve Madden — the shoe guru who’s collaborated with Cardi B, Ja Rule and Katy Perry — says he doesn’t view his time in prison as giving him street cred with musicians.
“No, no, the answer is no … And anybody who thinks that deserves any credit is a schmuck. It’s a horrible thing,” Madden tells Andrew Goldman on the upcoming podcast “The Originals.”
“I’m not proud of it, but I’m not ashamed,” said Madden of his time served for a 2002 conviction on securities fraud and money laundering.
He discusses the events in a new memoir, “The Cobbler: How I Disrupted an Industry, Fell From Grace & Came Back Stronger Than Ever.”
“I tell this story because it’s like one of those things that — everybody knows about it anyway. And so you might as well demystify it.”
The company began a major rebound upon his release.