The new editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue has stated that she will not be stepping down from her role while expressing regret for old tweets after 2011 Twitter messages of her disparaging Asian people surfaced.
“I’m so sorry to have used such hurtful and inexcusable language,” Alexi McCammond said Wednesday in a lengthy statement linked to her Twitter page. “At any point in my life, it’s totally unacceptable.”
Several staffers of Teen Vogue posted a collective statement Tuesday about McCammond’s tweets, saying that they are hopeful “an internal conversation will prove fruitful in maintaining the integrity granted to us by our audience.”
She made it clear that she understood their concerns.
“I hear that you’re hurt, angry, confused and skeptical of how we move on from here. I probably would be too if I were you,” McCammond wrote, addressing who she called the Teen Vogue “community, staff, readers, writers, photographers, content creators and friends.”
“Those tweets aren’t who I am, but I understand that I have lost some of your trust,” said McCammond, “and will work doubly hard to earn it back. I want you to know I am committed to amplifying AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) voices across our platforms, and building upon the groundbreaking, inclusive work this title is known for the world over.”
Condé Nast has thus far stood by McCammond’s hiring and is not planning to fire her. The company said it chose the former political reporter for the top job at 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,” the Condé Nast statement said. “Two years ago she took responsibility for her social media history and apologized.”
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McCammond tweeted comments like “currently googling how to not wake up with swollen, Asian eyes” and another in which she called a college teaching assistant a “stupid Asian.”
She has yet to officially start her new role at Teen Vogue, a job that starts March 24, yet this is the second controversial media issue McCammond has recently faced. She had a personal relationship with TJ Ducklo, a press official for President Joe Biden; Tucklo was forced to resign last month after threatening a reporter who asked him about his relationship with McCammond. She, at the time, was covering politics for Axios.
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