From Claire
wourder reblogged
The Proskauer Rose investigation is complete, and they did not uncover “evidence that race played a factor in setting compensation for any video team members”. (Proskauer Rose being a law firm notorious for union-busting.)
With the conclusion of this investigation, Alex Delany and Matt Hunziker’s suspensions are over.
This article includes a full memo sent to Bon Appétit staff on Friday.
Interesting to learn from molly that the YouTube stuff was a separate contract.
Priya is done with BA. I’ve also heard Sohla is done with video but staying to develop recipes, and Rick bought a house in Mexico where he was quarantined so I assume he’s done with video.
“For this episode, we reached out to 17 people who currently work for Bon Appetit as employees or contributors, including all of the Test Kitchen YouTube stars, as well as editorial, production, and support staff. Six people agreed to talk to us, though all of them requested not to be named for fear of retaliation, or because of ongoing negotiations with the company. No one agreed to be interviewed on tape.”
“Andres O’Hara: One person from the BA Test Kitchen, who spoke with us calls the suspension, “nefarious.” On the day Hunziker was suspended, several BA staffers and contributors, including people of color, posted messages of support for him on social media. They even started a hashtag, #standwithhunzi. Then that evening, there was a mandatory all staff meeting at 7pm. It was announced just 30 minutes in advance. Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue and “Global Content Advisor” for Conde Nast was in attendance.
Dan Pashman: Multiple sources confirm that in this meeting, people were called out by name for supporting Matt Hunziker on social media and told to take down their posts.
“Several people at Bon Appetit tell us that, because of the way negotiations are going, there’s a real possibility that a core group of Test Kitchen stars will leave the company.”
funny how Hunzi’s suspension got so much attention and Delaney’s got none. Almost like they want to scare people from speaking out....HMM CONDE?
“Proskauer is a big law firm known for its anti-labor work in the labor-management relations sector. They’re bad news, their hiring is almost always a sign that the employer is gonna try to union bust or block a union from getting in.”
Come on Condé Nast...
A longer statement from Brad.
Resident Brad stan here so my bias is huge, I think Brad saying this a good step for him and I hope he stays in the TK to bring in other white, jersey type guys to understanding and steps towards being a good ally. Obviously his answer is not the best but I truly feel he is trying and would do whatever work he needs to do AND would support all changes and future coworkers as much as he could. Brad has never been...I’m struggling to find a word better than woke but woke? So I don’t expect things from him, which is obviously a huge part of the problem. Someone online said, “make a stand Brad that’s why God made you so y’all” and I laughed but also, Brad I’m holding you to these promises 🙏
I think posting Christina’s statement is important because it shows so much info, but really, I feel like Brad has benefited the most from Duckor, and I am interested to see what changes he and the team will make. I certainly hope he’s not the only one going to sponsorship videos like the Tilamonk, tomatoes, and I assume the beef? anymore. But, I also don’t want It’s Alive to suffer. I hope the oppounities are split evenly and that we still get some great fermenting recipes and horrible Jersey slang.
do you think delanys going to resign too bc of andys story rn? so much stuff coming out abt ba rn it's insane
!!!!EDIT!!! I did not see the gay slur stuff today, but someone just mentioned it to me and now my opinion is that he needs to go too!!
Here is Andy’s response:
“Top executive Matt Duckor is out at Condé Nast after homophobic and racist tweets and allegations of suppressing diversity by Bon Appétit staffers”
Okay we’re cleaning house! Promote Hunzi!!