Alexi McCammond speaks at Politicon 2018 at the Los Angeles Convention Center on October 20, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
Michael S. Schwartz | Getty Images
Alexi McCammond said Thursday she would step down as editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue a few days before her start after being angry about her decades-old racist tweets about Asians.
“My past tweets have overshadowed the work I’ve done to highlight the people and topics that matter to me – topics that Teen Vogue has worked tirelessly on to share with the world,” McCammond said on Twitter.
McCammond said she and Teen Vogue publisher Conde Nast “decided to split”.
The 27-year-old’s big promotion and immediate resignation came after severe setbacks – also reportedly within Teen Vogue itself – over the racist and homophobic tweets she posted in 2011, some of which carried offensive stereotypes about Asians.
Conde Nast reportedly announced the news of McCammond’s departure in an internal email on Thursday.
“After speaking with Alexi this morning, we agreed that it would be best to part ways so as not to overshadow the important work at Teen Vogue,” Chief People Officer Stan Duncan wrote in an internal memo, reported Mediaite.
The resignation came a month after McCammond’s friend TJ Ducklo was suspended from the White House and then left the White House after he reportedly threatened a journalist about his relationship with McCammond and making a name for herself as a political reporter made at Axios.
Jonathan Swan, a noted political reporter and former McCammond colleague at Axios, defended McCammond later Thursday.
“I’ve worked with [McCammond] For four years, “Swan tweeted.” I know her well and I can say this clearly: the idea that she is racist is absurd. “
“Where the hell are we as an industry if we can’t accept a person’s sincere and repeated apology for tweets as a teenager?” he wrote.
As pressure increased on Conde Nast over McCammond’s tweets, Ulta Beauty reportedly paused a seven-figure ad purchase on Teen Vogue.
McCammond, named Emerging Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists in 2019, previously apologized for the tweets and regretted her regret in her statement on Thursday.
“I became a journalist to raise the stories and voices of our most vulnerable communities. That’s why, as a young woman of color, I was so excited to lead the Teen Vogue team on its next chapter,” said McCammond.
“I shouldn’t have tweeted what I did and I took full responsibility for it. I look at my work and my growth over the past few years and have my commitment to growth in the years to come, both as a person and as a Professional doubled. “
“I wish the talented Teen Vogue team all the best for the future. Your work has never been more important and I will put down roots for you.”
“There are still so many stories to tell, especially about marginalized communities and the problems that affect them. I hope to have the opportunity to rejoin the ranks of the tireless journalists who shed light on important issues every day.” ” She said.
