Adam Rapoport has resigned as Editor-in-Chief of Bon Appétit Magazine after an offensive photo of him resurfaced on Twitter and Instagram.
What We Know:
- A 2013 Instagram post from Simone Shubuck, Rapoport’s wife, resurfaced Monday morning. The photo shows Rapoport embracing brownface and insinuating Puerto Rican dress. In Shubuck’s caption, she calls him “papi” and uses the tag #boricua, a term Puerto Rican people use to identify themselves.
- Last week, freelance writer Illyanna Maisonet posted a conversation she had with Rapoport, where they discussed why her pitches for Puerto Rican food stories were always rejected. This post prompted people to share the offensive photo of Rapoport and more writers and editors came forward with complaints about Bon Appétit’s culture and practices towards people of color.
https://twitter.com/eatgordaeat/status/1269329628658712576
- Sohla El-Waylly, an assistant editor at Bon Appétit, made a statement on her Instagram story. In her story, she asks for Rapoport’s resignation and calls out the pattern of systematic racism at Bon Appétit and Condé Nast, their parent company. She stated that only white editors are paid for their video appearances.
In case you’ve missed it: Not only is Sohla one of the only front facing Bon Appetit editors to denounce EIC Adam Rapoport doing brown face, apparently only white BA editors are paid for their video appearances. Here’s her Instagram story just now pic.twitter.com/h0uPMlJYHN
— Sarah Manavis (@sarahmanavis) June 8, 2020
- Following El-Waylly’s story, several editors, including Molly Baz and Claire Saffitz, announced that they would not appear in any Bon Appétit videos until their coworkers receive fair compensation.
- Rapoport announced his resignation Monday evening on Instagram. Rapoport was an editor at GQ before taking his position at Bon Appétit. Both magazines are under Condé Nast.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBMT4rVg0H4/
- Bon Appétit and their editors have become YouTube sensations in recent years, with shows like “Gourmet Makes” and “Making Perfect” drawing in millions of views. This is not the first time they have received criticism regarding diversity and race. In January, Soleil Ho’s column in The San Francisco Chronicle says that Bon Appétit falls short “when it comes to accurately and meaningfully representing the cuisines and cultures it purports to represent.”
Bon Appétit and Rapoport’s fallout comes during a week with multiple high profile resignations. Top editors at the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer have stepped down for publishing tone-deaf and racially insensitive articles.
