A group of laid-off Teen Vogue staffers have launched a GoFundMe to help pay their rent and car payments, despite receiving severance packages from the publication.
Ex-Politics Editor Lex McMenamin started the fundraiser after being given the boot Monday along with six fellow staffers.
Also dismissed were Style Editor Aiyana Ishmael, Culture Editor Kaitlyn McNab, Features Director Brittney McNamara, Design Director Emily Zirimis, Visuals Editor Bea Oyster and Editorial Assistant Skyli Alvarez.
Teen Vogue’s top editor, Versha Sharma, is also ‘leaving the company,’ parent company Condé Nast confirmed.
A note on the fundraiser highlights the need for ‘immediate’ donations to cover expenses like rent and utilities, medical bills, car payments, relocation costs and purchases like personal computers.
A spokesperson for Condé Nast confirmed the employees did receive severance packages, but did not say what they included.
The group had secured nearly $29,000 in donations as of Wednesday afternoon, just short its $35,000 goal.
Condé Nast cut ties with the staffers as it announced Teen Vogue would be folded into Vogue.com following years of head-turning headlines.
Several fired Teen Vogue staffers have launched a GoFundMe after being laid off on Monday
Ex-Politics Editor Lex McMenamin – seen at the Teen Vogue Summit 2024 – launched the fundraiser after being given the boot this week
The publication courted criticism for promoting stories on antifa and another urging young readers to ‘talk to your family and friends about politics’ and ‘use your privilege as a white person to protect people of color.’
Other controversial pieces included ‘A Guide to Anal Sex’ and an explainer that discussed the benefits of communism.
A statement from Condé Union complained that nearly all the laid-off employees ‘identify as LGBTQ’ and that most ‘are BIPOC women or trans.’
The union’s statement added that Teen Vogue now has no writers or editors explicitly covering politics.
It also lamented the loss of ‘the work that made possible the blockbuster’ March Teen cover featuring Elon Musk’s transgender daughter, Vivian Wilson.
In an accompanying profile, Wilson slammed her father as ‘a pathetic man-child’ and the Trump administration as ‘cartoonishly evil.’
Ex-Culture Editor McNab also took to Bluesky Monday to ask for money, while thanking ‘everyone who has reached out.
‘I am so grateful. For nearly 4yrs as Culture Editor, I was dedicated to humanizing and empowering young people. We move,’ she wrote, sharing links to her CashApp and Venmo accounts.
The group had secure more than $28,000 of its $35,000 goal as of Wednesday afternoon
In March, Teen Vogue put Elon Musk’s transgender daughter, Vivian Wilson, on its cover. In an accompanying profile, Wilson slammed her father as ‘a pathetic man-child’ and the Trump administration as ‘cartoonishly evil’
Teen Vogue launched in 2003 and was developed under the guidance of longtime Vogue and Condé Nast chief Anna Wintour.
The legendary fashion editor, who revealed in June that she was stepping down as Vogue’s editor-in-chief after 37 years, addressed the changes at Teen Vogue in a statement.
She said the company would allow the publication’s ‘content to reach a larger audience and inspire young people globally.’