Teen Vogue staffers push back against new editor-in-chief

While the former Axios journalist attempts to charter a new path, her past remains a point of contention within the journalism community

Teen Vogue staffers publicly released a letter to management on Monday, taking aim at the publication’s newly hired editor-in-chief Alexi McCammond

Within recent months, controversy surrounding McCammond’s career has been in the spotlight — from her relationship with then-White House press secretary Tyler Joseph Ducklo to a history of past tweets featuring Asian stereotypes. 

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Alexi McCommond (Image via Conde Nast / Axios HBO)

“Today I was reminded of some past insensitive tweets, and I am deeply sorry to anyone I offended,” McCammond said in 2019 of her posts. “I have since deleted those tweets as they do not reflect my views or who I am today.”

While the former Axios journalist attempts to charter a new path, her past remains a sticking point for many in the journalism community. In a statement shared on Twitter, Teen Vogue’s staff expressed concern over the hiring of McCammond

“As more than 20 members of the staff of Teen Vogue, we’ve built our outlet’s reputation as a voice for justice and change—we take immense pride in our work and in creating an inclusive environment. That’s why we have written a letter to management at Condé Nast about the recent hire of Alexi McCammond as our new editor-in-chief in light of her past racist and homophobic tweets,” the staffers wrote.

“We’ve heard the concerns of our readers, and we stand with you. In a moment of historically high anti-Asian violence and amid the on-going struggles of the LGBTQ community, we as the staff of Teen Vogue fully reject those sentiments. We are hopeful that an internal conversation will prove fruitful in maintaining the integrity granted to us by our audience.”

According to the Daily Beast, Teen Vogue staff privately expressed concerns on Monday to Condé Nast’s global chief content officer Anna Wintour and CEO Roger Lynch about the hiring process and the decision to tap McCammond for the top job. Along with the recent public contention McCammond has garnered, staffers pointed to her lack of editing experience in comparison to some of the publication’s existing staff.

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