Former Vogue staffer André Leon Talley has slammed Anna Wintour’s leaked apology email about race-related “mistakes”. In her company-wide email, Wintour took “full responsibility” for not hiring enough Black creatives and acknowledged the hurt and pain Vogue employees of colour must be feeling in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
She also addressed the lack of diversity and “intolerant behaviour” at Vogue.
Like clockwork, Talley has called her out in an episode of SiriusXM’s Radio Andy and shared his theory of what prompted his former boss to send the email.
“Recently, she who is the dame of American Vogue made a statement,” Talley told Sandra Bernhard. “I want to say, also, as she made this statement, the announcement of the first Black female editor at Harper’s Bazaar, Samira [Nasr], that is news, ground-breaking. This has impacted [Wintour].”
Talley continued, “Clearly that statement comes because [Nasr] is going to run competition rings around her,” further speculating that Wintour’s “power-base has been somewhat affected by the competition of this young, African-American presence.”
“The statement came out of a world of white privilege. I want to say one thing: Dame Anna Wintour is a colonial broad,” Talley told Bernhard. “She’s a colonial Dame…she’s part of an environment of colonialism. She is entitled and I do not think she will ever let anything get in the way of her white privilege.”
Talley then compared Wintour’s apology to a statement NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made earlier this week, where he denounced racism and addressed the sports league’s kneeling protests — but did not mention the face of the movement by name.
“[Goodell] did not name Colin Kaepernick by name,” Talley said of the former San Francisco Giants player. “And as Reverend Al Sharpton said in his eulogy to Mr. Floyd, don’t apologise, give him back his job… No apology necessary. Give people back their jobs and name them. If you’re going to make a statement, name what your mistakes were.”
“Own up to it, dear,” he added. “All I’m asking for his human decency and kindness.”
It comes after Talley’s savage tell-all memoir, The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir, where he paints a scathing picture of his former bestie and boss.
Have a read of his wild BTS stories about Wintour here. Trust me, it’s worth a read.
