Post Alexi McCammond's racist tweet outcry, Ulta Beauty pauses Teen Vogue ads
A major advertiser at Teen Vogue, the retailer Ulta Beauty, has paused ad spending at the Conde Nast publication amid a growing outcry over anti-Asian tweets by the site's new editor in chief, Alexi McCammond.
A major advertiser at Teen Vogue, the retailer Ulta Beauty, has paused ad spending at the Conde Nast publication amid a growing outcry over anti-Asian tweets by the site's new editor in chief, Alexi McCammond. "Diversity and inclusion have always been core values at Ulta Beauty," a company spokeswoman said in a statement Thursday. "We stand against racism in all forms and as we’ve publicly shared in our social channels, we stand in unity with the AAPI community. We believe it’s important that our partners share our values. Our discussions with Conde Nast are actively underway as we seek to better understand their next steps and determine ours."
About McCammond's appointment, a Condé Nast spokesperson said in a statement, “Alexi McCammond was appointed editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue because of the values, inclusivity and depth she has displayed through her journalism. Throughout her career she has dedicated herself to being a champion for marginalized voices. Two years ago she took responsibility for her social media history and apologized.”
McCammond, 27, was a noted political journalist before Conde Nast announced earlier this month she'll replace Lindsay Peoples Wagner at digital-only Teen Vogue. Soon after the announcement, since-deleted tweets stretching back to 2011, when McCammond was in college, resurfaced, including several using racist and homophobic stereotypes. McCammond is Black.
While Teen Vogue has stood by McCammond's appointment, detractors have spoken out on social media and McCammond has apologized. More than 20 staff members at Teen Vogue posted a statement Monday saying they've written management in support of readers and others alarmed by the tweets, noting that they come at a time of “historically high anti-Asian violence and amid the ongoing struggles of the LGBTQ community.”
McCammond had worked for Axios and was an on-air contributor for MSNBC. In her latest apology, posted on social media, she said: “This has been one of the hardest weeks of my life, in large part because of the intense pain I know my words and my announcement have caused so many of you. ... 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.”
On Monday, in a staff-wide note sent to her new colleagues and obtained by The Daily Beast, McCammond wrote, “I’m beyond sorry for what you have experienced over the last twenty-four hours because of me. You’ve seen some offensive, idiotic tweets from when I was a teenager that perpetuated harmful and racist stereotypes about Asian Americans. I apologized for them years ago, but I want to be clear today: I apologize deeply to all of you for the pain this has caused. There’s no excuse for language like that. I am determined to use the lessons I’ve learned as a journalist to advocate for a more diverse and equitable world. Those tweets aren’t who I am, but I understand that I have lost some of your trust, and will work doubly hard to earn it back. I want you to know I am committed to amplifying AAPI voices across our platforms, and building upon the groundbreaking, inclusive work this title is known for the world over.”
The note continued, “I’m heartbroken by the nasty vitriol some of you have experienced in the wake of this situation. It is completely unacceptable. But as we navigate through this together, what matters to me is crushing the work we do. My number one mission in leading you through this next chapter is to make you all feel more confident, comfortable, and fearless in your storytelling and the boundaries we can push together as a team. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for this opportunity and for sticking with me.”
The tweets first surfaced in 2019, when she said she was “deeply sorry” and that the posts “do not reflect my views or who I am today.”
Instagram based industry watchdog, Diet Prada took to their social media to share a series of posts that shared apologies from Teen Vogue, another excerpt from the note McCammond shared with her colleagues and also Diana Tsui, editorial director at the Infatuation's take on the apology. The post was captioned, "That @teenvogue did not specifically address the Asian community in this statement was an interesting choice, to say the least, though unfortunately hardly surprising. It’s yet another instance that illustrates institutions don’t take anti-Asian racism seriously. Asians have collectively expressed their anger and pain, yet it appears they will receive no formal acknowledgement."
It continued, "Teen Vogue of course, has been in hot water for appointing Alexi McCammond as editor in chief. After her anti-Asian tweets from 2011 resurfaced, over 20 Teen Vogue staffers issued an open letter to Condé Nast demanding the tweets be addressed. McCammond has apologized to staff via an internal email, but the magazine, which went online-only in 2017, only publicly responded last night, issuing a statement on Instagram. It acknowledges they’ve had “frank, thoughtful, and real conversations over the last days about inclusivity and the way forward”. The language carefully skirts around being an apology and instead only imagines a path forward."
The caption went on to agree with Diana Tsui statement sharing posts by the editorial director, "Tsui makes good points about their word choice, particularly the dismissive nature of the statement closing with “excited to move forward”. That Teen Vogue didn’t acknowledge the source of the pain, namely McCammond’s tweets, is more than a sin of omission, especially at a time when anti-Asian racism has finally started to become a part of the national discourse. It’s a slap in the face and an embarrassing misstep from leadership of a publication that prides itself on its progressiveness."
In a viral post, Tsui had written, “Teen Vogue has positioned itself as a champion of inclusiveness and empowerment. Is this truly a leader who embodies these beliefs? Time and time again this shows that gatekeepers pay lip service to diversity. They don’t believe anti-racism policies can and should include Asian Americans.”
A spokeswoman for Teen Vogue did not immediately respond to an email request for comment Thursday. Ulta Beauty's ad pause was first reported by The Daily Beast. The company has had problems of its own. It has faced accusations of racial profiling of customers in stores and criticism over a lack of diversity in brands it carries. The company recently hired actor and fashion icon Tracee Ellis Ross as a diversity and inclusion adviser as it has started to implement a broader initiative on those fronts. Those steps include a promise to double the number of Black-owned brands available on their shelves and a $20 million campaign to reach out to customers of color and other underrepresented groups.
(With AP inputs)