Condé Nast backs Anna Wintour and insists there is ‘no truth’ to rumors the Vogue editor will resign

Condé Nast has backed Anna Wintour and insisted there is ‘no truth’ to rumors the Vogue editor will resign despite her skipping out on a tense all-staff phone call after she apologized for not doing enough to promote black staffers and designers. 

Roger Lynch, CEO of the magazine publishing giant, laughed off mounting calls for the long-running editor in chief to stand down from the helm of the fashion bible during an all-staff call on Friday.

‘There is no truth to that,’ Lynch said with a laugh, when multiple staff questioned Wintour’s future at the company.

Calls have been mounting for Wintour to resign from her 32-year reign at Vogue after current and former staff blasted the lack of diversity in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests nationwide.

Wintour, who is also Condé Nast’s artistic director, penned an apology last week admitting to letting ‘hurtful and intolerant behavior’ go unchecked and to not doing enough to champion black staffers and designers.

Lynch was forced to shield several questions about Wintour’s position at the firm during Friday’s call – which the Vogue editor was notably absent from. 

He insisted Wintour is key to turning the company around, calling her ‘an incredibly positive force for change,’ according to The Daily Beast.  

‘Like I said earlier, many of us can look back at our history and think of things we should’ve done differently. The real question is, are you in a position to contribute and make change now? I think there are very few people in the world who can have the influence to change the culture… than Anna,’ he said. 

Lynch also told staff that Wintour would remain part of the company’s diversity committee and that she would possibly make an appearance in an upcoming staff meeting after her absence on this call, reported the Beast. 

Wintour penned a a company-wide memo to her staff last Thursday amid nationwide unrest and protests calling for racial equality, following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day.

‘I want to start by acknowledging your feelings and expressing my empathy towards what so many of you are going through: sadness, hurt, and anger too,’ Wintour began.

‘I want to say this especially to the Black members of our team — I can only imagine what these days have been like. But I also know that the hurt, and violence, and injustice we’re seeing and talking about have been around for a long time. Recognizing it and doing something about it is overdue.’

In the letter, Wintour admitted that ‘it can’t be easy to be a Black employee at Vogue, and there are too few of you’ and pledged to ‘do better’. 

But her apology triggered a backlash with accusations circling that she has fueled a culture that does not not value diversity. 

The latest backlash against the the editor, dubbed ‘Nuclear Wintour’ due to her formidable reputation, comes as André Leon Talley, a former editor-at-large for the publication and former close friend of Wintour, has painted a scathing picture of her in his upcoming memoir.

Talley says he has ‘huge emotional and psychological scars’ from his decades long friendship with Wintour, which he claims came to a tumultuous end when she allegedly severed ties with him because he’d become ‘too old, too overweight and too uncool’.

He also claims there is an ‘endless’ list of writers, stylists and models who she has cast onto a ‘frayed and tattered heap during her powerful rule’.  

Condé Nast’s top boss Lynch has been forced to answer to staff over the last week, as protests over the death of black man Floyd have ignited demands to end systemic racism and discrimination in institutions across the nation. 

Lynch admitted Friday the company’s systems for handling workplace issues are ‘not adequate’ and that Condé will scrutinize its internal company makeup by ‘accelerating our first ever diversity and inclusion report to be published later this summer.’  

Lynch also defended his decision not to fire Oren Katzeff, the head of Condé Nast Entertainment, after it emerged he made offensive jokes about Mexicans and women. 

‘Every single one of us on this call has said something that you’re ashamed of,’ he said. 

‘The real question is: Have you learned from them? Have you taken ownership from it? And clearly: How serious was it?’ 

It’s been a turbulent week for Condé Nast as accusations have surfaced of misconduct at the highest levels and discrimination toward black staff at a number of the publisher’s brands. 

Wintour and Katzeff aside, a number of other top executives have stood down from their roles at the publishing firm in disgrace over their actions and comments.  

Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport resigned from his position after a photo surfaced of him and his wife Simone Shubuck dressed as derogatory Puerto Rican stereotypes.

The photo prompted widespread calls for the longstanding editor to stand down and led several former and current staffers to break their silence over alleged lack of opportunities and unequal pay for people of color working at Bon Appétit.

The disgraced editor’s personal assistant then broke her silence saying how he allegedly treated her – the only black woman on the staff – like ‘the help’ and told her he took his coffee ‘like Rihanna’.   

Bon Appétit assistant editor Alex Delany was also forced to apologize this week when an image of a Confederate-flag cake surfaced from his Tumblr account. 

Matt Duckor, who heads video programming for Condé Nast, also resigned after old tweets surfaced were he made offensive comments about gay people and people of color.