In March 2021, Condé Nast prepared to install Axios reporter Alexi McCammond as Teen Vogue's next editor-in-chief, with her start date set for March 24. The appointment quickly became a crisis when a series of bigoted tweets McCammond had written during her college years resurfaced. The controversy was especially damaging for Teen Vogue, whose editorial identity had shifted toward progressive politics, racial justice, sexuality, and social criticism under Elaine Welteroth, Phillip Picardi, and Lindsay Peoples Wagner. Staff members and outside critics questioned how a publication built around amplifying marginalized young people could place an editor with a documented history of prejudicial remarks at its helm. McCammond resigned before taking the position, turning what was intended as a high-profile leadership transition into a public credibility failure for both the incoming editor and Condé Nast's vetting process. On April 7, Teen Vogue announced Danielle Kwateng as executive editor, and on May 10 the company named Versha Sharma editor-in-chief. The episode became a prominent example of how a fashion-media brand's public values can collide with executive hiring decisions, social-media history, and newsroom expectations.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 2020s
The 2021 Teen Vogue Appointment That Collapsed Under Bigoted-Tweet Backlash
Teen Vogue / Condé Nast / Alexi McCammond / 2020s
In March 2021, Condé Nast prepared to install Axios reporter Alexi McCammond as Teen Vogue's next editor-in-chief, with her start date set for March 24. The appointment quickly became a crisis when a series of bigoted tweets McCammond had written during her college years resurfaced. The controversy was especially damaging for Teen Vogue, whose editorial identity had shifted toward progressive politics, racial justice, sexuality, and social criticism under Elaine Welteroth, Phillip Picardi, and Lindsay Peoples Wagner. Staff members and outside critics questioned how a publication built around amplifying marginalized young people could place an editor with a documented history of prejudicial remarks at its helm. McCammond resigned before taking the position, turning what was intended as a high-profile leadership transition into a public credibility failure for both the incoming editor and Condé Nast's vetting process. On April 7, Teen Vogue announced Danielle Kwateng as executive editor, and on May 10 the company named Versha Sharma editor-in-chief. The episode became a prominent example of how a fashion-media brand's public values can collide with executive hiring decisions, social-media history, and newsroom expectations.
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