Teen Vogue’s incoming editor, Alexi McCammond, resigns over racist-tweet fallout

Alexi McCammond, named the new editor in chief of Teen Vogue earlier this month, has parted ways with publisher Condé Nast amid fallout from tweets she posted a decade ago.

McCammond, who used anti-Asian and homophobic terms in the tweets, made the announcement in a statement Thursday.

“My past tweets have overshadowed the work I’ve done to highlight the people and issues that I care about — issues that Teen Vogue has worked tirelessly to share with the world — and so Condé Nast and I have decided to part ways,� the 27-year-old wrote Thursday on Twitter.

“I should not have tweeted what I did and I have taken full responsibility for that. I look at my work and growth in the years since and have redoubled my commitment to growing in the years to come as both a person and as a professional.�

McCammond also said she hoped she’d have “the opportunity to re-join the ranks of tireless journalists� in the future and wished the Teen Vogue team well.

She was previously a political reporter for Axios and a contributor on NBC and MSNBC, but she stepped off the Biden beat in November after starting a relationship with then-deputy White House Press Secretary T.J. Ducklo. Ducklo resigned from his position in mid-February after threatening a reporter who inquired about their relationship.

A Condé Nast executive said in a Thursday email to staff, which was leaked to several media outlets, that the decision was made after a morning discussion with McCammond.

McCammond was scheduled to start as editor in chief on March 24. Instead, the situation blew up after a group of staffers said early this month that they had contacted management about the tweets, which originally resurfaced in 2019. Back then, McCammond had deleted the tweets and apologized, saying the old posts did not reflect her current views.

McCammond had apologized publicly for the tweets on March 10, saying in part that making Asian Americans feel more invisible was “the last thing I’d ever want.� “I’m sorry to have used such hurtful and inexcusable language. At any point in my life, it’s totally unacceptable,� she wrote, her remarks coming amid a spike in violence toward Asians and Asian Americans.

Also, in an internal email at the time, provided to the New York Times by Condé Nast, McCammond wrote, “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.�

Stan Duncan, chief people officer for Condé Nast, said in an internal email Thursday that “Alexi was straightforward and transparent about these posts during our interview process and through public apologies years ago. Given her previous acknowledgments of these posts and her sincere apologies, in addition to her remarkable work in journalism elevating the voice of marginalized communities, we were looking forward to welcoming her into our community.

“In addition, we were hopeful that Alexi would become part of our team to provide perspective and insight that is underrepresented throughout media. We were dedicated to making her successful in this role and spent time working with her, our company leadership and the Teen Vogue team to find the best path forward.�

The best path forward, however, wound up being the path out the door.