Bon Appetit stars are refusing to appear in videos until their BIPOC colleagues are also fairly compensated. It comes amid widespread accusations of racism that saw editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport resign this morning.
Molly Baz, Carla Lalli Music, Andy Baraghani, Claire Saffitz, Alex Delany and Brad Leone have all refused to participate in any new filming until the pay dispute is resolved, while some are demanding videos in which they appear not be aired.
It all kicked off when Sohla El-Waylly, who has been working with Bon Appetit as an assistant editor and has appeared in the Test Kitchen video series since 2019, made the allegations about unequal pay while also calling for Rapoport’s resignation.
She alleged that white editors were paid for their appearances in videos, while people of colour were not. She also said that she was on a contract of $50k [$71kAUD] for her work, and has not been paid extra for any of her video appearances.
Former Bon Appetit staff members Hawa Hassan and Alex Lau have also spoken out about their experiences with the title, with Hawa saying she was paid $400 per video she appeared in before she left in October 2019, and Alex talking about the erasure of the contributions of people of colour from behind the scenes of Bon Appetit.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to watch bon appétit after this knowing they paid Hawa Hassan a measly 400 bucks for each of her video appearances, then had the gall to include her in Test Kitchen photos???? pic.twitter.com/ivjgvkxVOH
— mrs columbo (@mernyferny) June 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/iamnotalexlau/status/1270038290645897219?s=20
hell, people weren’t even aware that the person creating most of the photographs at BA wasn’t a white person. to a lot of the outside world, i didn’t exist.
— Alex Lau (@iamnotalexlau) June 8, 2020
As per Variety, Condé Nast – who publishes Bon Appétit – has denied allegations of unequal pay between its white and BIPOC staff, and has since made a statement on Twitter about how it pays its staff across the entire company.
As a global media company, Condé Nast is dedicated to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace. We have a zero-tolerance policy toward discrimination and harassment in any forms. (1/2)
— Condé Nast (@CondeNast) June 9, 2020
Consistent with that, we go to great lengths to ensure that employees are paid fairly, in accordance with their roles and experience, across the entire company. We take the well-being of our employees seriously and prioritize a people-first approach to our culture. (2/2)
— Condé Nast (@CondeNast) June 9, 2020
