*If you’ve been following the drama going down over at Essence Magazine, you know that a group called Black Female Anonymous wrote an exposé via Medium.
If you haven’t been following, know that the article put the Black female-targeted outlet on blast over alleged toxic working conditions and demanded that four top execs step down.
Well, they got heir wish. Kinda sorta. One of the execs they named, Richelieu Dennis, resigned as CEO on Tuesday.
In their article, the women claimed that Dennis, 49, had a “surface-level commitment to Black women” but that he is actually “driven by greed and a debaucherous sexual appetite.”
Wait. That’s not all. The piece also alleges that “he has a history of sleeping with women on the Sundial staff [the beauty brand that produces SheaMoisture, and which he sold to Unilever in 2017] … For the women who don’t seemingly consent, he openly sexually harasses them at private company events.”
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Now that Dennis has stepped down, Caroline Wanga, who joined the company on Monday as chief growth officer, will serve as interim CEO of Essence Communications — a position that Dennis had filled since the March resignation of Michelle Ebanks (who is still on the board of parent company Essence Ventures).
At this point, it’s not clear if Dennis, a haircare mogul who bought Essence from Time Inc. in 2018, will remain as head of the parent company.
“Out of an abundance of caution and an unwavering commitment to transparency, Essence is in the process of hiring law firms and other independent external experts to assess and review the company’s policies,” Essence said in a statement sent to EURweb
It is said that Dennis’ role as CEO at Essence Magazine was always intended to be temporary. He assumed the role in March after Michelle Ebanks stepped down and moved to the board of Essence Ventures — where Dennis will remain the chair.
Speaking of Ebanks, Black Female Anonymous also called for her to leave the company, as well as COO Joy Collins Profet and chief content officer Moana Luu.
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