Andre Leon Talley Comes To The Defense Of Anna Wintour
Have André Leon Talley and Vogue editor Anna Wintour made up? This is the question on every fashionista’s mind as the magazine's former editor and creative director embattled the editor and reported inspiration for Miranda Priestly from the movie The Devil Wears Prada.
Page Six reports that Talley attested to Wintour’s character after the editor was accused of racism by a New York Times exposé. The defense comes as a surprise after Talley described Wintour as “incapable of human kindness” in his recently published memoir, The Chiffon Trenches.
In a post on his Instagram account showing him and Wintour at the 1999 Met Gala, Talley said that the appointment of Edward Enninful as the first Black male editor-in-chief of Vogue UK became possible because of Wintour breaking the glass ceiling by making Talley the first African American male creative director of Vogue US in 1988.
It was certainly a different tune from five months ago when excerpts from Talley’s The Chiffon Trenches started making the rounds. Aside from blasting Wintour as unable to feel kindness, Talley alleged that Wintour removed him from Met Gala red carpet duties because he was “too old, too overweight, too uncool.”
Talley also claimed that the editorial department at Conde Nast -- the publishing company that puts out Vogue -- was unable to make space for the Black perspective. He said that his former colleagues at the company did not write back to him about an opinion piece he wrote for the Washington Post, hailing the Beyoncé cover of the 2018 Vogue September issue.
Wintour certainly needs somebody in her corner. The Insider notes that Black staffers who previously worked at Vogue have called for Wintour to relinquish her control of the influential fashion magazine.
As noted by the Insider, Black staffers at Vogue were constantly aware that what the magazine wanted was “thin, rich and white,” an environment which they found hard to work in. This, despite the fact that one of the Black staffers interviewed admitted that the fashion world is itself bitchy.
Wintour is just the latest celebrity to be subjected to allegations of fostering a toxic and racist work environment. Just last month, television host Ellen DeGeneres was forced to address the allegation of abuse, racism, and sexual harassment in the first episode of the latest season of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Other entertainment personalities that have had to face accusations of inappropriate or abusive behavior include actress Lea Michele, television showrunner Peter Lenkov, and film director Joss Whedon.
Michele was called out by her former Glee co-star Samantha Ware, who alleged that Michele made her time on set “a living hell.”
Lenkov, on the other hand, was accused by MacGyver star Lucas Till of bullying, verbal abuse, and body-shaming severe enough to make him consider suicide.
Meanwhile, according to actor Ray Fisher, Joss Whedon was allegedly gross, unprofessional, and abusive on the set of Justice League.