Media
Bon Appétit brownface scandal reflects broader racism problem in food media
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A brownface scandal and accusations of rampant racism at Bon Appétit magazine are a sign that the food media suffer from a lack of racialized staff members and storytellers, says Eden Hagos.
“I think a lot of people of colour, especially Black people, have noticed that we’ve been missing from stories about food and everyday stories, in general, in media. So, it wasn’t very surprising at all,” Hagos, founder of the website Black Foodie, told Day 6 host Brent Bambury.
Black Foodie is a food and culture site and event company that puts a Black-centred lens on Canadian food, giving visibility to food with African, Caribbean and Southern American roots, from jerk chicken to Ethiopian lentils.
Hagos launched her site in 2015 as an alternative to mainstream food media in North America, which she said largely features foods with European cultural roots — whereas ingredients from other cultures, such as turmeric or harissa, are often treated as exotic or unusual.
“What often ends up happening is that because food media is so white, you get white personalities introducing ‘ethnic’ foods as if they’re somehow exotic or strange,” culture writer Navneet Alang said on CBC’s Front Burner.
“And they often don’t get people from various cultures explaining not just the food or the cuisine itself but how it fits into a broader culture or broader history.”
Diversity in the food media world came under a microscope on Monday after a photo of Bon Appétit head Adam Rapoport and his wife in brownface and stereotypical Puerto Rican costumes at Halloween surfaced on social media.
Staffers widely criticized the photo, which Rapoport said was taken in 2003, but it was also followed by allegations of racism and a toxic workplace environment. Assistant food editor Sohla El-Waylly alleged that she and other racialized editors were not paid for their appearances on the magazine’s wildly popular YouTube channel while her white co-workers were.
Rapoport announced his resignation late Monday. Several of El-Waylly’s fellow editors vowed to stop shooting new videos until their colleagues of colour received equal pay.
I just assumed fancy means European…. I didn’t value the places and the spaces that come from my community. And that’s really sad.– Eden Hagos
Bon Appétit released a statement Wednesday saying its editorial leadership has been “far too white for far too long,” resulting in content that often “co-opted, and Columbused” racialized stories and cuisine.
Alang expressed surprise at the speed of the response and commended current Bon Appétit staffers, including contributing writer Priya Krishna and contributing food editor Rick Martinez, for publicly critiquing the outlet’s treatment of racialized staffers.
“But obviously, the thing to see going forward is whether or not that actually turns into real change that we can tell is actually occurring,” he said.
Alang examined the dynamics of race and ethnicity in an article for Eater that cited American cook Alison Roman’s mega-popular dish known as “the stew,” which critics said simply relabelled a common curry dish, and a now-deleted Bon Appétit video from 2016 that declared “pho is the new ramen.”
But he stressed that he doesn’t mean white chefs should be forbidden from talking about international cuisine or that Thai food, for example, should only be presented by a Thai chef.
“I don’t like the idea of gatekeeping, of saying, ‘Well, you’re absolutely forbidden to use this thing or do this thing,'” he said.
“I think it’s about acknowledging what’s happening in this contemporary moment — that people are talking about power and prejudice and representation and what those things mean.”
‘Maybe in February’
The othering of non-European food and culture in Canadian and American food media shaped Hagos’s relationship with food throughout her life. When she was younger, Hagos said, she wouldn’t take friends to Ethiopian restaurants.
“I just assumed fancy means European…. I didn’t value the places and the spaces that come from my community. And that’s really sad,” she said.
With the success of Black Foodie, she’s been able to prove that a wide variety of cuisine doesn’t have to be framed as an “ethnic” curiosity for a mostly Caucasian audience.
“I’ve been able to create a community and bring thousands of people on this journey with me and with other food writers,” Hagos said. “I think what we see in Canada is how amazing and unique different Black chefs and food entrepreneurs are.”
Still thinking about Bon Appétit saying African food is too tricky….no one would want to make it… LMAO more injera for me! Your loss ✌🏾 <br>But for real tho these views hurt our restaurants & food entrepreneurs. Follow <a href=”https://t.co/L00R5MOEQn”>https://t.co/L00R5MOEQn</a> while they ignore us we FEAST! <a href=”https://t.co/itoYLdoQ1Q”>pic.twitter.com/itoYLdoQ1Q</a>
—@EdenTheFoodie
While Black readers and foodies were on board with the site from the beginning, she said it took a while to convince some others.
Early negative comments included people asking why such a site needed to exist. Brands would respond to advertising and investing inquiries with, “Maybe in February,” meaning they would only consider it during Black History Month, Hagos said.
“I hope right now, there’s a shift in thinking to see that Black people eat every day. We make great food every day. We have dinner parties. We live outside of their companies’ response to trauma.”
Flipping the script
By putting a spotlight on Black-centric foods, Hagos also hopes to dispel negative stereotypes that some of those foods carry — such as fried chicken.
In Iron Chef fashion, a regular feature dubbed Black Foodie Battle asks chefs to submit recipes with a main ingredient such as okra or plantain. Last week’s theme was fried chicken, a dish laden with “negative connotations and stereotypes in the Black community,” Hagos said.
“I’ve met people who told me they don’t eat it in public, you know, and that’s sad.”
Hagos traced the history of fried chicken to the American South, where former Black slaves built businesses and financial independence by making and selling fried chicken. It was the bedrock of soul food cuisine, whose restaurants became important social hubs.
“We had people from all over North America create really interesting dishes involving their culture and their own special spices and ingredients. We thought that was pretty powerful, to kind of flip the script on something that had been looked down on,” she said.
Source: – CBC.ca
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The British Columbia government is putting its proposed online harms legislation on hold after reaching an agreement with some of the largest social media platforms to increase safety online.
Premier David Eby says in a joint statement with representatives of the firms Meta, TikTok, X and Snapchat that they will form an online safety action table, where they’ll discuss “tangible steps” toward protecting people from online harms.
Eby added the proposed legislation remains, and the province will reactivate it into law if necessary.
“The agreement that we’ve struck with these companies is that we’re going to move quickly and effectively, and that we need meaningful results before the end of the term of this government, so that if it’s necessary for us to bring the bill back then we will,” Eby said Tuesday.
The province says the social media companies have agreed to work collaboratively with the province on preventing harm, while Meta will also commit to working with B.C.’s emergency management officials to help amplify official information during natural disasters and other events.
The announcement to put the Bill 12, also known as the Public Health Accountability and Cost Recovery Act, on hold is a sharp turn for the government, after Eby announced in March that social media companies were among the “wrongdoers” that would pay for health-related costs linked to their platforms.
At the time, Eby compared social media harms to those caused by tobacco and opioids, saying the legislation was similar to previous laws that allowed the province to sue companies selling those products.
Eby said one of the key drivers for legislation targeting online harm was the death of Carson Cleland, the 12-year-old Prince George, B.C., boy who died by suicide last October after falling victim to online sextortion.
“In the real world we would never allow a company to set up a space for kids where grown adults could be invited in to contact them, encourage them to share photographs and then threaten to distribute those photographs to their family and friends,” Eby said when announcing the legislation.
The premier said previously that companies would be shut down and their owners would face jail terms if their products were connected to harms to young people.
In announcing the pause, the province says that bringing social media companies to the table for discussion achieves the same purpose of protecting youth from online harm.
“Our commitment to every parent is that we will do everything we can to keep their families safe online and in our communities,” said Eby.
Ryan Cleland, Carson’s father, said in a statement on Tuesday that he “has faith” in Eby and the decision to suspend the legislation.
“I don’t think he is looking at it from a political standpoint as much as he is looking at it as a dad,” he said of Eby. “I think getting the social media giants together to come up with a solution is a step in the right direction.”
Business groups were opposed
On Monday, the opposition B.C. United called for a pause to Bill 12, citing potential “serious legal and economic consequences for local businesses.”
Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon said in a statement that his party pushed Eby’s government to change course, noting the legislation’s vague language on who the province can sue “would have had severe unintended consequences” for local businesses and the economy.
“The government’s latest retreat is not only a win for the business community but for every British Columbian who values fairness and clarity in the law,” Falcon said.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade said they are pleased to see the legislation put on hold, given the “potential ramifications” of the proposal’s “expansive interpretation.”
“We hope that the government chooses not to pursue Bill 12 in the future,” said board president and CEO Bridgitte Anderson in a statement. “Instead, we would welcome the opportunity to work with the government to develop measures that are well-targeted and effective, ensuring they protect British Columbians without causing unintended consequences.”
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Donald Trump is set to secure on Tuesday a stock bonus worth US$1.3-billion from the company that operates his social media app Truth Social (DJT-Q), equivalent to about half the majority stake he already owns in it, thanks to the wild rally in its shares.
The award will take the former U.S. president’s overall stake in the company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), to US$4.1-billion.
While Mr. Trump has agreed not to sell any of his TMTG shares before September, the windfall represents a significant boost to his wealth, which Forbes pegs at US$4.7-billion.
Unlike much of his real estate empire, shares are easy to divest in the stock market and could come in handy as Mr. Trump’s legal fees and fines pile up, including a US$454.2-million judgment in his New York civil fraud case he is appealing.
The bonus also reflects the exuberant trading in TMTG’s shares, which have been on a roller coaster ride since the company listed on Nasdaq last month through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and was snapped up by Trump supporters and speculators.
Mr. Trump will be entitled to the stock bonus under the terms of the SPAC deal once TMTG’s shares stay above US$17.50 for 20 trading days after the company’s March 26 listing. They ended trading on Monday at US$35.50, and they would have to lose more than half their value on Tuesday for Mr. Trump to miss out.
TMTG’s current valuation of approximately US$5-billion is equivalent to about 1,220 times the loss-making company’s revenue in 2023 of US$4.1-million.
No other U.S. company of similar market capitalization has such a high valuation multiple, LSEG data shows. This is despite TMTG warning investors in regulatory filings that its operational losses raise “substantial doubt” about its ability to remain in business.
A TMTG spokesperson declined to comment on the stock award to Mr. Trump. “With more than $200 million in the bank and zero debt, Trump Media is fulfilling all its obligations related to the merger and rapidly moving forward with its business plan,” the spokesperson said.
While Mr. Trump’s windfall is rich for a small, loss-making company like TMTG, the earnout structure that allows it is common. According to a report from law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, stock earnouts for management were seen in more than half the SPAC mergers completed in 2022.
However, few executives clinch these earnout bonuses because many SPAC deals end up performing poorly in the stock market, said Freshfields securities lawyer Michael Levitt. TMTG’s case is rare because its shares are trading decoupled from its business prospects.
“Many earnouts in SPACs are never satisfied because many SPAC prices fall significantly after the merger is completed,” Mr. Levitt said.
To be sure, TMTG made it easier for Mr. Trump to meet the earnout threshold. When TMTG agreed to merge with the SPAC in October, 2021, the deal envisioned that TMTG shares had to trade above US$30 for Mr. Trump to get the full earnout bonus. The two sides amended the deal in August, 2023 to lower that threshold to US$17.50, regulatory filings show.
Had that not happened, Mr. Trump would not have yet earned the full bonus because TMTG’s shares traded below US$30 last week. The terms of the deal, however, give Mr. Trump three years from the listing to win the full earnout, so he could have still earned it if the shares traded above the threshold for 20 days in any 30-day period during this time.
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The B.C. government is putting its proposed online harms legislation on hold after reaching an agreement with some of the largest social media platforms to make people safer online.
Premier David Eby says in a joint statement with representatives of the firms Meta, TikTok, X and Snap that they will form an online safety action table, where they’ll discuss “tangible steps” towards protecting people from online harms.
Eby says the social media companies have “agreed to work collaboratively” with the province on preventing harm, while Meta will also commit to working with B.C’s emergency management officials to help amplify official information during natural disasters and other events.
“We have had assurance from Facebook on a couple of things. First, that they will work with us to deliver emergency information to British Columbia in this wildfire season that (people) can rely on, they can find easily, and that will link into official government channels to distribute information quickly and effectively,” Eby said at a Tuesday press conference.
“This is a major step and I’m very appreciative that we are in this place now.”
3:56
B.C. takes steps to protect people from online harms
The announcement to put the bill on hold is a sharp turn for the government, after Eby announced in March that social media companies were among the “wrongdoers” that would pay for health-related costs linked to their platforms.
At the time, Eby compared social media harms to those caused by tobacco and opioids, saying the legislation was similar to previous laws that allowed the province to sue companies selling those products.
5:46
Carol Todd on taking action against online harms
Last August, Eby criticized Meta over its continued blackout of Canadian news outlets as wildfires forced thousands from their homes. Eby said it was “unacceptable” for the tech giant to cut off access to news on its platforms at a time when people needed timely, potentially life-saving information.
“I think it’s fair to say that I was very skeptical, following the initial contact (with Meta),” Eby said Tuesday.
Eby said one of the key drivers for legislation targetting online harm was the death of Carson Cleland, the 12-year-old Prince George, B.C., boy who died by suicide last October after falling victim to online sextortion.
The premier says in announcing the pause that bringing social media companies to the table for discussion achieves the same purpose of protecting youth from online harm.
“Our commitment to every parent is that we will do everything we can to keep their families safe online and in our communities,” the premier said in his statement.
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