The ghost of tweets past just cost Teen Vogue a multimillion dollar advertising deal and now their editor in chief is hanging by a thread. 
Ulta Beauty, a $7.4 billion cosmetics and skin care company, has officially halted their Teen Vogue advertising agreement after anti-Asian controversy emerged from the shadow and the internet trolls struck. On Friday March 12, the Condé Nast-owned publication announced that it hired Axios reporter Alexi McCammond as chief editor.
McCammond is in the fire for her “racist” tweets about Asians back in 2011. Though she apologized two years ago, her recent affiliation with the super wokies over at Teen Vogue has caused her politically-incorrect tweets to resurface.
The tweets in question have since been deleted but their impact seems to continue to haunt McCammond. She complained that she’d been “outdone” by Asians, criticized “asian eyes” and was upset when she received a 2/10 on her chemistry homework from a “stupid asian T.A.” Unwarranted tweets to say the least and nonetheless offensive.
Back in 2019, she apologized after being dragged for her comments but she recently had to apologize again. She’s posted her apology on her personal Instagram and Twitter in a lengthy note to the Teen Vogue community expressing how “deeply sorry” she is for her “hurtful and inexcusable language.”
Though McCammond seemed sincere and made clear her intentions to help the AAPI (Asian and Pacific Islander) community, her apology was insufficient.
Ulta Beauty had plans to spend seven figures in advertising for Teen Vogue but even despite McCammond’s apology on the decade old anti-Asian tweets, they have chosen to halt further partnership plans with Condé Nast. Ulta released a statement to Daily Beast regarding their retraction decision:
Diversity and inclusion are core values at Ulta Beauty—and always have been,” the spokesperson said. “Our current spend with Teen Vogue is paused as we work with Condé Nast to evaluate the situation and determine next steps regarding our partnership.”
Since the incident developed and came into scope, numerous Teen Vogue employees wrote a letter to Condé Nast’s management team expressing their concern and there’s even been a change.org petition to remove McCammond as a Teen Vogue figurehead.
While Teen Vogue has no room to talk about unnecessary and disgusting posts, it is interesting that they might fire McCammond before she even starts. Cheers to Ulta though since Teen Vogue doesn’t need anymore PR for the garbage content they publicize. As McCammond ended her letter “to better days ahead.”
