Alison Roman quits New York Times seven months after ‘white privilege’ row with Chrissy Teigen
Alison Roman has announced that she has left her role as a food columnist at The New York Times, seven months after she became embroiled in a row with Chrissy Teigen on social media.
In May, Roman made controversial comments about Teigen’s success in an interview with The New Consumer. In the interview, Roman said she was “horrified” by Teigen’s brand, Cravings (a lifestyle brand offering recipes and kitchenware), which she referred to as a “content farm”.
Elsewhere in the interview, Roman also criticised tidying guru Marie Kondo, telling the publication that she “f**king sold out immediately” with regards to how she monetised her organisation strategy into books and a TV series.
Roman’s comments prompted widespread criticism and accusations of racism on social media, with Teigen describing the comments as a “huge bummer”.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so bummed out by the words of a fellow food-lover," she tweeted at the time.
“I just had no idea I was perceived that way, by her especially."
Roman issued a statement apologising to both Teigen and Kondo in which she addressed the accusations of racism, writing: “I’m not the victim here, and my insecurities don’t excuse this behaviour.
“I’m a white woman who has and will continue to benefit from white privilege and I recognise that makes what I said even more inexcusable and hurtful.”
“The fact that it didn’t occur to me that I had singled out two Asian women is one hundred percent a function of my privilege (being blind to racial insensitivities is a discriminatory luxury).”
Roman was suspended from The New York Times in the wake of the criticism and has now confirmed that she will be permanently leaving the publication.
“It feels like a good time to formally mention I won't be returning to NYT Cooking,” she said in an Instagram post shared on Wednesday.
“I'm proud of the work we made together but excited for this new chapter which includes more recipes, videos and writing over on A Newsletter and beyond,” she added in reference to her cooking newsletter.
A spokesperson for The New York Times told Page Six that Roman left the publication of her own volition.
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