The new Vanity Fair editor is facing backlash from employees after reporting that he was considering putting Melania Trump on the cover.
Mark Guiducci took over as the new editorial director for the Condé Nast publication at the end of June and is already ruffling feathers. Semafor reported over the weekend that he was considering putting the First Lady on the cover of the magazine in a bid to bring in more conservatives. According to one employee that spoke to The Daily Beast, they would quit before working at a place with Melania Trump on the cover.
“I will walk out the motherf—ing door, and half my staff will follow me,” the mid-level editor said. “We are not going to normalize this despot and his wife; we’re just not going to do it. We’re going to stand for what’s right.”
The editor continued: “If I have to work bagging groceries at Trader Joe’s, I’ll do it. If [Guiducci] puts Melania on the cover, half of the editorial staff will walk out, I guarantee it.”
While the news of the first lady being on the cover might be frustrating to some Vanity Fair employees, it excited the idea of Fox News hosts. Ainsley Earhardt said she would “buy several of them if they would do this, just to prove a point” while Brian Kilmeade said the editor who made claims of walking out should be fired.
“You should be fired,” he said. “If you’re at Vanity Fair right now, look for a mid-level editor who looks angry, and toss them out and send them to Trader Joe’s!”
The news is only the latest decision by Guiducci to try to shake things up since he took over editorial duties at Vanity Fair. He told staffers in July that the publication would be focusing more on entertainment, culture, “money, politics and style” moving forward. As a result, Vanity Fair scaled back its “news aggregation, reviews and trade coverage” output and verticals like The Hive and Hollywood Daily were phased out.
Guiducci was preceded by former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Radhika Jones‘ April announcement that she was leaving the magazine. Later that same month, longtime executive digital director Michael Hogan announced that he would be vacating his role at Vanity Fair as well.
