Bon Appétit editor-in-chief stepping down after brown face photo resurfaces

Bon Appétit editor in chief Adam Rapoport resigned on Monday night after several of the magazine's staffers, contributors, and YouTube personalities objected to a photo showing him in brown face, attempting to look Puerto Rican, on Halloween in 2013.
Rapoport, who became editor in chief in 2010 and has been part of Condé Nast since 2000, announced on Instagram that he is stepping down "to reflect on the work that I need to do as a human being and allow Bon Appétit to get to a better place."
In an Instagram story posted earlier in the day, assistant food editor Sohla El-Waylly called for Rapoport's resignation, and said the Halloween photo is "just a symptom of the systemic racism that runs rampant within Condé Nast as a whole." She also alleged that "only white editors" are paid to appear in videos for Bon Appétit's popular YouTube channel, and demanded that "BIPOC" (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) be "given fair titles, fair salaries, and compensation for video appearances."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Other editors and contributors echoed El-Waylly's sentiments, including Priya Krishna, who called the photo "f--ked up, plain and simple. It erases the work the BIPOC on staff have long been doing, behind the scenes. I plan to do everything in my power to hold the EIC, and systems that hold up actions like this, accountable."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining House
Speed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharing
Speed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze
Speed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining House
Speed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharing
Speed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze
Speed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump touts early wins in partisan speech to Congress
Speed Read The president said he is 'just getting started' with his sweeping changes to immigration, the economy and foreign policy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trudeau blasts Trump's 'very dumb' trade war
Speed Read Retaliatory measures have been announced by America's largest trading partners following Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after public spat
Speed Read Trump and J.D. Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy for what they saw as insufficient gratitude
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's Mexico and Canada tariffs begin, roiling markets
Speed Read Stocks plunged after Trump affirmed that the tariffs would take effect, sparking a likely trade war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Judge tells White House to stop ordering mass firings
speed read The ruling is a complication in the Trump administration's plans to slash the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published