High-profile editors step down amid racial discrimination claims

Editors at top magazines, websites and newspapers have been resigning in large numbers this month after past transgressions, including racially insensitive comments, treatment and a lack of support and pay parity for writers and editors of colour have come to light. Bon Appétit’s Adam Rapoport, Refinery29’s Christene Barberich, New York Times Opinion Editor James Bennet, Variety’s Claudia Eller and Stan Wischnowski from The Philadelphia Inquirer are some of the biggest names in publishing who have been put on leave or resigned from their posts after an outcry from staff.On June 8, Barberich, who founded Refinery29 in 2005 along with Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Justin Stefano, announced her resignation from the popular lifestyle brand. Barberich made a public statement on Instagram, writing “I will be stepping aside in my role at R29 to help diversify our leadership in editorial and ensure this brand and the people it touches can spark a new defining chapter. A chapter that demands a new voice—both for our team and our audience—one that can shape and guide the critical stories that have the real power to shift and disrupt our culture, helping to eliminate institutional barriers that separate us and hold our society back.”[video_embed id='1973110']RELATED: Bieber admits he's benefitted from Black culture, vows to fight racial injustice[/video_embed]Barberich confirmed that Refinery29 is now in the process of looking for a new global editor-in-chief and according to the New York Times, Barberich will remain within the Refinery29 landscape as an adviser until the fall.Barberich’s resignation comes less than one week after Refinery29 turned its homepage black as a sign of solidarity with the #BlackoutTuesday movement on June 2. This prompted many current and former employees to use the hashtag #BlackAtR29 and speak out about the company’s past transgressions towards Black writers and editors.

Hey @Refinery29, cool blacked out homepage! But you know what real allyship looks like? Paying your Black employees fairly, having Black women in top leadership positions & addressing the microagressions your Black employees deal with from management on a daily basis.

— Ashley Alese Edwards (@AshleyAlese) June 2, 2020

Just to be clear about how Refinery29 and I ended our working relationship: #BlackAtR29 pic.twitter.com/qduhJBDS3N

— Channing Hargrove (@chan_inthecity) June 6, 2020

Ofc, I was thrilled to be writing content for and about Black women. So when I accepted my offer and my $52k salary at Refinery, I thought that I’d be doing ~the work~. I didn’t know that the power that I was supposed to see, feel, and claim would be taken away from me.

— Khalea Underwood (@letsbeKHAlear) June 5, 2020

B4 layoffs, I was a Branded Content Editor. A team member pitched a story once about self-care paid 4 by a makeup company, featuring me. When I got 2 set, I wore my hair differently than expected. The microagressions FLEW. How I felt about it shows in the pics. #BlackAtR29

— Brianna Arps (@BriannaArps) June 5, 2020

to be #blackatr29 is to be overworked, overqualified, under appreciated, and often as was in my case underpaid. it’s to be told by your executive producer on countless occasions that “you could do my job better than me” but to be dissuaded when you ask for a promotion.

— taylor camille (@tayllure) June 7, 2020

One of my former colleagues who’s biracial DMed me to tell me how working at Refinery29 literally ruined his life. Getting “can I say the n word?” asked to him by his own direct boss, then blackballed. pic.twitter.com/oZa0RsSN0p

— Sophie Ross (@SophRossss) June 5, 2020

Rapoport out at Bon Appetit

Also on June 8, Bon Appétit’s editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport resigned after a picture of himself and his wife Simone Shubuck in brownface surfaced. The picture, which was originally shared on Shubuck’s public Instagram page and was taken in 2004, has now been taken down and also included Shubuck referring to Rapoport as "Papi."The picture set off a discussion amongst BA staffers about ongoing racial issues at the publication. The NYT is reporting that two virtual meetings took place on June 8 and many staff members called for Rapoport’s resignation, citing the photo as only one of the many instances of racial insensitivity shown by the EIC. Assistant food editor Sohla El-Waylly posted about the meetings on her Instagram stories and said that systemic racism at Bon Appétit runs throughout the parent company, Condé Nast, though it's fired back via a statement denying the claim and reaffirming a "dedicat[ion] to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace."El-Waylly said that in the 10 months she's been working at the company, she has been “pushed in front of video as a display of diversity. In reality, currently only white editors are paid for their video appearances. None of the people of color have been compensated.”[video_embed id='1973107']RELATED: Michael B. Jordan wants Hollywood to 'commit to Black hiring'[/video_embed]Speaking to Buzzfeed, El-Waylly said she was sent to Philadelphia to film with three Black chefs who requested the magazine send Black staff members because Bon Appétit "doesn't have a great history of working with Black chefs." El-Waylly, who herself is not Black, said she was not briefed on the situation by her employer and found herself in the middle of a "very strange" and uncomfortable shoot. Since sharing her experiences, El-Waylly has received an outpouring of support on social media from fans and co-workers.At The Philadelphia Inquirer, staff members and readers were outraged last week when editor Stan Wischnowski approved the headline “Buildings Matter, Too”, which was published on June 2 in response to the business and buildings that had been damaged during protests over the killing of George Floyd. Forty reporters and columnists at the newspaper called in “sick and tired” last week as a sign of protest towards the headline.  On June 6, publisher Lisa Hughes said that Wischnowski had decided to step down as senior vice president and executive editor effective June 12.

NYT editor also steps down

At the New York Times’, Opinions and Editorial editor James Bennet resigned on June 7 after he published a controversial op-ed from Republican Sen. Tom Cotton. Titled “Send In The Troops,” the article argued for the use of the Insurrection Act, which would deploy members of the military across the U.S. to police citizens who were protesting. Many staffers, including Pulitzer-Prize winner reporter Nikole Hannah Jones, spoke out about the piece and the Times later apologized for running Cotton’s article.

I’ll probably get in trouble for this, but to not say something would be immoral. As a black woman, as a journalist, as an American, I am deeply ashamed that we ran this. https://t.co/lU1KmhH2zH

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) June 4, 2020

This was the latest move by Bennet in a series of missteps that included previously publishing an anti-Semitic cartoon.At Variety, editor-in-chief Claudia Eller announced she was taking a two-month administrative leave after a feud on social media. Eller wrote an article for Variety saying that she pledged to do more to diversify the publication and was challenged on Twitter by former Variety employee Piya Sinha-Roy. Eller said that Sinha-Roy, who now works at a rival publication, was "bitter" and the women engaged in a back in forth online that offended many staffers and resulted in Eller’s decision to step away from her position.[video_embed id='1972306']RELATED: Amanda Brugel says it's important to address systemic racism and injustice publicly[/video_embed]