Ulta Beauty has pulled its ads with Teen Vogue after internal uproar over the magazine’s new editor-in-chief, Alexi McCammond, because of old “racist” tweets about Asians.
The beauty brand — which has been a major advertiser for Teen Vogue — told Daily Beast in a statement on Wednesday that it is ceasing its current advertising campaign with Teen Vogue, owned by Condé Nast. The deal was reportedly worth seven figures.
“Diversity and inclusion are core values at Ulta Beauty — and always have been,” a company 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.”
The report added that Condé Nast has been inundated with criticism over McCammond becoming the publication’s new editor-in-chief, due to a series of “insensitive” and racist tweets that she published in 2011, which were resurfaced in 2019.
A now-deleted decade-old tweet from McCammond in stated, “now googling how to not wake up with swollen, asian eyes…”
“Outdone by Asian #whatsnew,” read another.
In addition to her other tweets regarding Asians, McCammond seemingly referred to one of her teaching assistants as a “stupid Asian.”
McCammond had apologized for the 2011 tweets when they first resurfaced in 2019, saying she was “deeply sorry” for her “past insensitive tweets,” and that they “do not reflect my views or who I am today.”
Today I was reminded of some past insensitive tweets, and I am deeply sorry to anyone I offended. I have since deleted those tweets as they do not reflect my views or who I am today.
— Alexi McCammond (@alexi) November 20, 2019
Following the news of Ulta Beauty pulling its ads from Teen Vogue, McCammond took to Twitter and posted a lengthy letter addressing her new colleagues.
“What an awful introduction we’ve had to each other this week,” the new editor-in-chief wrote. “I’m Alexi McCammond, the incoming IEC of Teen Vogue, and this is only the beginning of our journey together.”
“As I’ve been having a number of conversations internally with Condé Nast, I’ve also been watching, reading, and listening to so many of your concerns that you’ve raised,” McCammond continued. “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.”
I hope you'll read this note from me to the @TeenVogue community, staff, readers, writers, photographers, content creators, and friends: https://t.co/ROoovqQHLX pic.twitter.com/85T8XBJULn
— Alexi McCammond (@alexi) March 11, 2021
McCammond said she has dedicated her career “to giving a voice to the voiceless, and the last thing I’d ever want is to make anyone — but especially our Asian brothers and sisters in particular — feel more invisible.”
Before Teen Vogue, McCammond was political reporter at Axios. She also had a relationship with former deputy White House press secretary T.J. Ducklo, who resigned last month after threatening to “destroy” Politico reporter Tara Palmeri after she called McCammond to discuss their romantic relationship for a story.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler @alana, and on Instagram.
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