*Teen Vogue has named a non-Foundational Black American as the new executive editor after Alexi McCammond was fired last month for mentioning the word “Asian” in tweets she posted as a teenager.
Danielle Kwateng, who has worked at Teen Vogue for two years, was announced on Wednesday as the publication’s new executive editor.
McCammond, 27, resigned on March 18 as Teen Vogue’s editor in chief amid a backlash over resurfaced offensive tweets that she posted back in 2011. We previously reported, a week before McCammond was to start as editor-in-chief of Condé Nast’s Teen Vogue, she was fired after her old tweets about Asians were unearthed.
McCammond deleted the tweets two years ago but screenshots of her derogatory comments resurfaced after her Teen Vogue gig was announced, Yahoo reported.
READ MORE: Teen Vogue Editor Alexi McCammond Fired Over ‘Anti-Asian’ Tweets She Posted as Teen
Teen Vogue thinks that hiring a non-Foundational Black American editor, we will ignore the anti-Black tweets from their Asian staff member @christinedavitt and how the company is protecting HER..But they fired another Black woman for her tweets mentioning the word “Asian” https://t.co/vNp3VXQLhy
— Tariq Nasheed ???????? (@tariqnasheed) April 7, 2021
One now-deleted tweet read: “Give me a 2/10 on my chem problem, cross out all of my work and don’t explain what i did wrong… thanks a lot stupid asian T.A. you’re great.”
McCammond also used the words ‘gay’ and ‘homo’ online.
“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,” she said in a statement shared in a tweet.
McCammond added, “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.” In her statement, she said, “I became a journalist to help lift up the stories and voices of our most vulnerable communities. As a young woman of color, that’s part of the reason I was so excited to lead the Teen Vogue team in their next chapter.”
Kwateng, a Columbia University graduate, was previously a senior editor at Vice, according to her LinkedIn.
Teen Vogue posted on Wednesday a letter written by the new editor titled: ‘What’s Going on Right Now at Teen Vogue’. Kwateng addressed the controversy surrounding McCammond’s tweets, noting “We at Teen Vogue have read your comments and emails and we have seen the pain and frustration caused by resurfaced social media posts,” Kwateng said.
“While our staff continued doing the groundbreaking and progressive work we’re known for, we stopped posting it on social media as we turned inward and had a lot of tough discussions about who we are and what comes next.
“We’re not perfect, but we do know our place in the media landscape and recognize that our readers make up the DNA of our work. We are invested in you as much as you are invested in us.”
We appreciate your patience as we’ve navigated the last few weeks. Please take a moment to read this important letter from our newly appointed executive editor, Danielle Kwateng ⤵️ https://t.co/zx2eFTMeiZ
— Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) April 7, 2021
Meanwhile, filmmaker Tariq Nasheed responded to Kwateng’s promotion by noting in a tweet while Teen Vogue curbed McCammond over her “anti-Asian tweets,” the publication is ignoring the anti-Black tweets from their Asian staff member Christine Davitt.
Davitt is the magazine’s social media manager and for some odd reason, she keeps her tweets private. Folks on Twitter are calling for her to receive the same treatment that McCammond received.
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