Why Bon Appétit editor Rapoport resigned post
If you’re not familiar with the Condé Nast’s monthly food and entertaining magazine Bon Appétit, you’ve probably seen one of its BA Test Kitchen videos on YouTube.
With more than 6 million subscribers and a cult-like following, the Test Kitchen has become a staple for both amateur chefs and those who just like to relax while watching Claire Saffitz make complicated recipes.
But Monday was anything but relaxing for Bon Appétit’s editor in chief, Adam Rapoport, who resigned for his post. He made the announcement on Instagram, saying:
“I am stepping down as editor in chief of Bon Appétit to reflect on the work that I need to do as a human being and to allow Bon Appétit to get to a better place. From an extremely ill conceived Halloween costume 16 years ago to my blind spots as an editor, I’ve not championed an inclusive vision. And ultimately, it’s been at the expense of
Bon Appétit and its staff, as well as our readers. They all deserve better.”
Rapoport came under fire early Monday after a 2013 post resurfaced with him in a Bronx baseball cap, a Yankees shirt and a platinum chain with the caption “#TBT me and my papi @rapo4 #boricua” from user simoneshubuck.
The Instagram account is now deleted, but commentators were quick to point out the use of “brown face” for a costume.
The conversation then quickly turned to allegations that the Condé Nast brand pays white editors, but not people of color, for video appearances. The allegations were given more credence when assistant editor at the BA Test Kitchen Sohla El-Waylly joined the calls for Rapoport to resign and claimed she was brought on to assist white editors with “significantly less experience” than her.
“I’ve been pushed in front of video as a display of diversity. In reality, only white editors are paid for their video appearances. None of the people of color have been compensated,”
El-Waylly posted Monday on her Instagram story.
Over on Twitter, former Bon Appetit staff photographer Alex Lau said he “left BA for multiple reasons, but one of the main reasons was that white leadership refused to make changes that my BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) coworkers and I constantly pushed for.”
The BA Test Kitchen has been criticized before for its lack of diversity and having its white editors gain popularity by doing foreign-inspired dishes.
In a May 20th Eater article, Navneet Alang said: “It doesn’t help to say that certain people own ingredients, or have dominion over certain types or presentations or techniques. But the way that excitement over particular trends and recipes circulates publicly, whether on Instagram or in Bon Appétit, can reinforce whiteness as a norm, just as divorcing history from food erases the contributions and lives of people of color from Western narratives. When whiteness is allowed to function as if it weren’t that, it hurts us all.”