Fired People Magazine Editor Sues For Discrimination

A former senior editor for People magazine claims she was discriminated against at work and dealt with an environment openly hostile to racial minorities before being fired in June. Tatsha Robertson, who claims she is the only black senior editor People has ever employed, claims the magazine is “a discriminatory organization run entirely by white people who intentionally focus the magazine on stories involving white people and white celebrities,” and she recounts instances of racist comments by then-executive editor Betsy Gleick. According to the suit, at one point Gleick told Robertson: “You need to talk like everyone else here. You’re not at Essence anymore.” Robertson claims she was left out of important meetings, and her attempts to expand coverage to non-white people and issues were quashed.