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.
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will Europe beat China and India to the North Pole?
Podcast Plus, is the man who designed the iPhone going to kill his own creation? And what's going on at the equalities watchdog?
-
Is it finally all change for train Wi-Fi?
In The Spotlight South Western Railway's 5G Wi-Fi service has changed the way passengers connect – but will the new system catch on?
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A cheesy chase, a cinema on water, and more
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders