British Vogue’s editor Edward Enninful has revealed that he was racially profiled on his way into the magazine’s own offices, with a security guard instructing him to enter the premises via the loading dock.
Enninful, who became the magazine’s first ever Black editor-in-chief in 2017, posted details of the incident to Twitter and Instagram on Wednesday evening.
“Today I was racially profiled by a security guard whilst entering my work place,” he wrote. “As I entered, I was instructed to use the loading bay.”
“Just because our timelines and weekends are returning to normal, we cannot let the world return to how it was. Change needs to happen now.”
In a caption accompanying the Instagram post, Enninful told his 1 million followers that Vogue’s publisher, Condé Nast, had “moved quickly” to dismiss the security guard in question.
“It just goes to show that sometimes it doesn’t matter what you’ve achieved in the course of your life: The first thing that some people will judge you on is the colour of your skin,” he added.
Condé Nast confirmed to CNN that the security guard, who worked for a third-party contractor at Vogue’s London headquarters, was dismissed from the site and “placed under investigation by their employer.
“On social media, the likes of Cynthia Erivo, Marc Jacobs and supermodel Iman offered messages of support for the 48-year-old editor.
Enninful’s longtime friend Naomi Campbell commented: “When will this change? Been happening in UK for so long … so sorry you had to go through that!! Don’t let it deter you. Stay STRONG.”
British Vogue’s deputy editor Sarah Harris replied to Enninful’s Instagram post saying that the incident was “inexcusable,” while actress Gemma Chan wrote: “There’s so much more work to do. Sorry this happened to you Edward.”
Enninful is known for championing models of color and race-related topics throughout a three-decade career that has included roles at magazines including i-D and Vogue Italia. His commitment to diversity was recognized by Queen Elizabeth II in 2016, when she awarded him the Order of the British Empire, or OBE, in her birthday honors list.
Born in Ghana and raised in west London, Enninful was named the sixth most powerful Black person in Britain in the annual Powerlist 2020 ranking.