Who is Lindsay Peoples Wagner? Teen Vogue ex-editor warned Condé Nast about Alexi McCammond's racist tweets
The outgoing editor of Teen Vogue who was eventually replaced by Alexi McCammond, whose racist tweets landed her in hot water last month, had allegedly warned Condé Nast and former staff about McCammond's contentious posting, a new report said on Sunday, April 4, 2021.
In an analysis of the scandal, the Washington Post revealed that Lindsay Peoples Wagner, who came on board as editor-in-chief in 2018, had warned former staffers about McCammond. The 27-year-old was announced as Peoples Wagner's replacement as editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue on March 4, following which anti-Asian tweets she posted in 2011 resurfaced on social media and brought her under scrutiny. She announced her resignation on March 18 before even starting her role.
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Who is Lindsay Peoples Wagner?
Lindsay Peoples Wagner was the editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, making her the youngest Editor in Chief of any Condé Nast magazine.
Hailing from Brown Deer, Wisconsin, Peoples Wagner attended Buena Vista University in Iowa, and started an internship at Teen Vogue soon after. She later held an assistant position within the company, eventually leaving Teen Vogue to work for The Cut, an online style and culture publication of New York Magazine, as a fashion editor. During her time there, she wrote a "celebrated" article on what it is like to be Black in fashion, interviewing 100 people in the business.
In October 2018, she returned to Teen Vogue as editor-in-chief, making her the youngest, as well as only the third African-American to hold such a post of a Condé Nast publication. In 2020, she founded an NGO, Black in Fashion Council with Sandrine Charles. It was dedicated to holding the fashion industry accountable for change and had garnered the support of nearly 400 Black models, stylists, executives, and editors and has 38 international partners.
In 2017, Peoples Wagner was awarded an ASME Next Award. She was included in the Forbes 30 under 30 in Media in 2020. In 2021, Peoples Wagner rejoined The Cut as its editor-in-chief, replacing Stella Bugbee.
She had not put McCammond on her list of proposed successors
Peoples Wagner reportedly told the Teen Vogue staff that she had not put McCammond on her list of proposed successors, adding that she'd warned Condé Nast that McCammond's tweets could resurface and spell trouble for her appointment at their magazine.
According to the Post, Teen Vogue staffers aired their concerns regarding McCammond's appointment at a meeting with Anna Wintour, Vogue editor and Global Chief Content Office for publisher Condé Nast. "We've built our outlet's reputation as a voice for justice and change — we take immense pride in our work and in creating an inclusive environment," they said in a joint statement after the meeting, adding that they sought to distance themselves from McCammond.
McCammond's subsequent apologies after the tweets resurfaced did little to quell the chaos among staffers who were puzzled on learning that Condé Nast knew about her tweets but didn't warn about the controversy that could possibly arise around them. Condé Nast executives have maintained that they felt the 2019 apology McCammond issued regarding the tweets she penned back in 2011 - when she was 17 and still in high school, would override any such backlash.
"Googling how to not wake up with swollen Asian eyes," she had said in a tweet. In another from the same year, she blamed a "stupid Asian" teaching assistant for her failures during chemistry lessons. Other tweets used the terms "Asian", "homo" and "gay" in a derogatory manner. The tweets prompted a revolt from magazine staff, but Wintour was reportedly determined to stand by McCammond.