Vogue’s Anna Wintour Admits to Hurtful Behavior + That ‘She Hasn’t Done Enough to Promote Black Staffers and Designers’

Famed Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour wrote a company-wide message to the staff last Thursday amidst civil unrest and racial injustice due to the death of George Floyd and police brutality. 

Wintour additionally addressed how the company could have improved on uplifting Black designers and members. Wintour is also the artistic director of Condé Nast, the parent company of Vogue. The message was sent three days before Adam Rapoport, the editor-in-chief of Bon Appétit, another brand under the Condé Nast name, resigned after a photo of him in brownface surfaced.

Read Wintour’s full statement below:

“I want to start by acknowledging your feelings and expressing my empathy towards what so many of you are going through: sadness, hurt, and anger too.

I want to say this especially to the Black members of our team — I can only imagine what these days have been like. But I also know that the hurt, and violence, and injustice we’re seeing and talking about have been around for a long time. Recognizing it and doing something about it is overdue.

I take full responsibility for those mistakes. It can’t be easy to be a Black employee at Vogue, and there are too few of you. I know that it is not enough to say we will do better, but we will — and please know that I value your voices and responses as we move forward. I am listening and would like to hear your feedback and your advice if you would like to share either.

I am proud of the content we have published on our site over these past few days but I also know that there is much more work to do. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch with me directly. I am arranging ways we can discuss these issues together candidly, but in the meantime, I welcome your thoughts or reactions.

This is a historic and heartbreaking moment for our country and it should be a time of listening, reflection, and humility for those of us in positions of privilege and authority. It should also be a time of action and commitments. On a corporate level, work is being done to support organizations in a real way. These actions will be announced as soon as possible.“

Rumors of Wintour’s hurtful actions and words have been surfacing for years, ever since her 32-year reign as Vogue editor-in-chief began. André Leon Talley, a former editor-at-large for the magazine and former close friend of Wintour, described in his memoir that Wintour was unkind. He also stated that his relationship with Wintour had a tumultuous ending.