The editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit, Adam Rapoport, resigned after a photo of him dressed in a stereotypical Puerto Rican costume surfaced on social media.
Staffers at the magazine had criticised him after the photo, of him and his wife, circulated on Twitter. That tweet featured a screenshot of a 2013 Instagram photo by Rapoport's wife that depicted the two dressed up in costume.
In the screenshot, his wife tagged the photo "boricua," a reference to Puerto Ricans, and called Rapoport "papi." He was wearing a large, heavy chain, a do-rag and a baseball cap. His wife's account is private.
In an Instagram post, Rapoport said he was stepping down as editor "to reflect on the work that I need to do as a human being." He said the photo was of an "extremely ill-conceived" Halloween costume 16 years ago. He acknowledged "blind spots" as an editor and said the magazine's staff and readers deserved better leadership.
Furore over the photo unleashed other employee complaints. One staffer, Sohla El-Waylly, claimed on Instagram that she hasn't been paid for appearing in videos for Bon Appetit's popular YouTube channel, in contrast to white editors who did likewise.
