Editor resigns in wake of vegan ‘joke’
BRITISH MasterChef critic and magazine editor William Sitwell is battling backlash over a comment he made about “killing vegans, one by one”.
BuzzFeed reported that Sitwell, the former editor of Waitrose Food magazine, made the statement in an email to freelance writer Selene Nelson, who had pitched a series on plant-based cooking. In his response, Sitwell reportedly wrote: “How about a series on killing vegans, one by one. Ways to trap them? How to interrogate them properly? Expose their hypocrisy? Forcefeed them meat? Make them eat steak and drink red wine?”
Following an uproar, Sitwell, who is also a food critic on BBC’s
MasterChef, apologised and said that he was resigning from his position at the magazine, which states it features “recipes and articles from the world’s best chefs and food writers”.
But he said on Wednesday on Instagram that he wanted to make two remarks.
“Firstly, to reiterate my apology to any food- and lifeloving vegan who was genuinely offended by remarks written by me as an ill-judged joke in a private email and now widely reported,” he wrote online.
“Second, a word about my team on Waitrose & Partners Food. For two amazing decades I’ve worked with simply the best crew in the business.”
Nelson posted what she said was the email exchange on Twitter earlier this week.
In her initial email to Sitwell, Nelson pitched him a regular series on “vegan cooking” for people who are “keen to discover plant-based meal ideas”.
Following Sitwell’s response, Nelson emailed him back, writing that “I’m not quite sure what you mean by ‘exposing their hypocrisy’, but I’m certainly interested in exploring why just the mention of veganism seems to make some people so hostile. It sounds like you have some opinions on this? I’d love to know more.” Nelson said on Instagram that she is a vegan because “I don’t support the torment and slaughter of 156 billion animals each year, nor the catastrophic devastation it causes our planet.”
Sitwell is known for his role on MasterChef – a critic with an “acid tongue and a distinct dislike of square plates,” according to the Sun.