BREAKING: Could This Vinyl Editor’s Problematic Tweets Be the Undoing of an Empire?
Vinyl magazine is largely known in the publishing world for taking a progressive stance on social issues. After all, their editor in chief since the ’80s has been bra-burner and advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights Loretta James. This magazine has tackled everything from universal healthcare to contraceptive desserts, so the unearthing of problematic, early-2000s tweets from the site’s Digital director, influencer Jade Aki, is particularly shocking. Between the homophobic language and the racist commentary, everyone in media is wondering one thing: Could this Vinyl editor’s tweets be the end of the magazine as we know it?
Let’s take a step back. Who is Jade Aki? The 27-year-old digital prodigy began working for the magazine at just 22 years old after graduating from Bard College. Aki’s first job in the industry was working as the executive assistant to current EIC, Loretta James. After contributing to the magazine and paying her dues at the bottom of the food chain for three years, Aki made the leap of a lifetime: from grabbing coffee to leading a digital revolution. Aki took over the website in late 2015 and helped James to transform the brand into the woke arena of VSCO girls turned women and allied men it is today. Aki also has a substantial presence on social media, drawing in thousands of followers with her street wear collaborations and commentary about mental health. In fact, Aki has been incredibly vocal about her activism, sharing information with her followers about climate change, immigration reform, and the criminal justice system. This editor has always been more than a shiny new pair of stilettos, which is why we were shocked to learn that the hype beast tweeted a series of highly problematic, offensive messages on a private account, nearly 12 years ago.
Trigger warning: The following tweets may be triggering for members of the Black and disabled communities, as well as for lower-income Americans and those struggling with disordered eating or mental illness.
Aki’s tweets were emailed to Delilah around 11:00 p.m. last night by an anonymous source, who claimed to be a Vinyl employee. The source revealed they were concerned by Aki’s judgment in such a senior role, given her lack of experience and problematic history.
Jade Aki @AkAttack69
could math class be anymore retarded if it TRIED?! Me thinks not
11:32 AM -28 Feb 2007
Jade Aki @AkAttack69
Max asked me if I was wearing faux fur and I was like “What do I look like? A poor?” lol #richasfuck
9:16 PM -07 March 2007
Jade Aki @AkAttack69
Should I buzz my head? Or would that look SoOoOoOo gay? No homo
3:12 PM -18 April 2007
Jade Aki @AkAttack69
My diet is anorexia
8:00 PM -04 May 2007
Jade Aki @AkAttack69
If I c 1 more juicy tracksuit I’ll dead ass slit my wrists fml
7:25 AM -26 June 2007
Jade Aki @AkAttack69
Deadass I kinda wanna do a tough mudder. But will that count as brown face? LMAO
4:40 PM -02 July 2007
Jade Aki @AkAttack69
Kk I’ll just say it: I h8 Korean food but I love how they do my nails #notracistcuzimAZN
1:13 PM -10 August 2007
Safe to say 2007 was an unfortunate year for Aki, who has previously been called everything from the next Virgil Abloh to the Supreme prophet. Now, the world certainly doesn’t look how it did five years ago, let alone a decade. Just because someone held certain beliefs in the past in no way means they haven’t taken strides to reeducate themselves for the better since. How can we expect people to ask questions if they’re scared they’re going to be judged and dismissed? As a society, we have to create strides toward accountability, not cancel culture.
With that being said, we here at Delilah have only one word for Aki: yikes. If I were her, I’d haul ass to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and repent ASAP.
Delilah reached out to Vinyl for comment. The Shifter-Pearce Publishing brand’s head of Communications, Daniel Dreyfus, released the following statement:
“Jade Aki has been a valued member of this company for five years. Under the exemplary direction of Loretta James, Aki has been instrumental in expanding Vinyl’s digital coverage, reaching traffic goals, increasing monthly KPIs, selling brand ad space, and more. We have spoken to Aki personally, and she has assured us these tweets have all been doctored. There is no record of Aki ever having tweeted these comments in Twitter’s archives. Save for these screenshots, no further proof of such commentary exists. We stand by Aki’s claims 100%. That said, SPP is launching our own internal investigation and will react according to the results. Our company’s mission statement is inclusionary and does not tolerate bigotry, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, or classicism in any way, shape, or form.”
Aki herself refused to comment.
So it looks like SPP is choosing to stand by their prized social justice warrior. And we can’t say we blame them: The decades-old publishing house has come under fire lately for a lot of backward practices. They’ve been accused of everything from underpaying freelancers to refusing to use size-inclusive and transgender models. Vinyl was the sole progressive star in SPP’s portfolio.
Delilah has reached out to Twitter for comment and the social networking company confirmed that Aki did register the user account AkAttack69 from 2007–2009.
UPDATE: While some readers are banding together and demanding full accountability from Aki, acknowledging the racist, classist, and homophobic nature of her tweets, along with a detailed account of how she plans to educate herself and make reparations to the communities she’s harmed, others are simply demanding her resignation. “As a person of color and a champion of marginalized narratives, I expected better,” one Twitter user wrote. “I acknowledge that people can change, grow, and learn from their mistakes, but should they be put in a position of power and leadership? Probably not.” Others were quick to point out that many of those urging readers to forgive Aki for her past indiscretions were not people directly impacted by her tweets. “If you’re a straight, cis, upper class white man or woman, please refrain from commenting on this situation,” another user wrote. “This isn’t your cross to bear.”
It took less than an hour of this news breaking for the hashtag #AreYouAKIddingMe to begin trending on Twitter. Readers reactions range from less than thrilled to full-on furious. Many are calling for Aki’s immediate dismissal from Vinyl Digital. Others are demanding a written apology from Aki, Vinyl, and the entirety of SPP, as well initiatives taken to hire a diversity council and inclusion officer on staff. The majority are calling for her cancellation. But consider this:
Just one month ago, Loretta James accepted the ASME Award for reported journalism for a groundbreaking feature that blew the whistle on the music streaming industry and singlehandedly led to an investigation into the rights and resources of recording artists. Vinyl magazine continues to do excellent investigative work. Should we give Aki the benefit of the doubt, allowing her to apologize before roasting her on a stick? Look at the bigger picture before jumping off a cliff to join the movements of the masses? Think free thought, led by the mind, not the mouth. And for the love of God, don’t allow a single institution to suffer entirely for the sins of one worshipper, no matter how loud her voice or salient her prayers may be. Amen.