Alexi McCammond won’t join Teen Vogue after all. The Axios political reporter was planning to take the reigns as editor-in-chief March 24. At the time, Anna Wintour praised McCammond’s “powerful curiosity and confidence.” Things quickly fell apart due to McCammond’s past anti-Asian tweets.
McCammond and Condé Nast decided to “part ways” according to a statement.
Teen Vogue Staff and Readers Push Back
There was immediate pushback by Teen Vogue staffers. More than 20 members of the publication’s staff protested the hire. Their open letter derided McCammond’s “past racist and homophobic tweets.” They stood with readers as well, saying “We’ve heard the concerns of our readers, and we stand with you.”
In a climate of anti-Asian violence and “on-going struggles of the LGBTQ community”, Condé Nast couldn’t have chosen a worse editor-in-chief for Teen Vogue. McCammond did issue an apology for the past statements.
“I’ve apologized for my past racist and homophobic tweets and will reiterate that there’s no excuse for perpetuating those awful stereotypes in any way,” McCammond wrote.
Advertisers Pull Out
Cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty stopped running ads with Teen Vogue.
“Diversity and inclusion are core values at Ulta Beauty—and always have been,” a spokesperson for the makeup seller told the Daily Beast. “Our current spend with Teen Vogue is paused as we work with Condé Nast to evaluate the situation and determine next steps regarding our partnership.”
The New York Post reported that Ulta’s “pause” would be significant. Ulta, “a $7.4 billion cosmetics and skin care giant, was reportedly prepared to spend seven figures advertising in Teen Vogue.”
Other Controversy
McCammond was in the news earlier this year for a different controversy. Her boyfriend T. J. Ducklo, a Biden press aide threatened a reporter who was reporting on the relationship between White House staffer and a journalist. “I will destroy you,” Ducklo reportedly told Politico’s Tara Palmeri. McCammond was most recently a political reporter for Axios, where she was the leading 2020 reporter covering Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
