Robert Galbraith/Reuters
Ellen Pao, the embattled CEO of Reddit, has resigned. Pao was the interim executive of the self-described "front page of the Internet" after a revolt last week by sub-reddit moderators. The website exploded when Reddit brass dismissed Victoria Taylor without explanation last week and many users launched racist and misogynistic messages against Pao. Reddit has 160 million regular users and is owned in part by Conde Nast.
The site's initial CEO and cofounder Steve Huffman, who was no longer with the company, will take over as CEO, according to a statement on the company's announcement page. In the note announcing Pao's departure, Reddit investor and former interim CEO Sam Altman, said "it was sickening to see some of the things redditors wrote about Ellen."
"If the reddit community cannot learn to balance authenticity and compassion, it may be a great website but it will never be a truly great community," Altman wrote.
Pao drew ire from the Reddit community for shutting down hate communities, like one dubbed /r/FatPeopleHate.
Last week, Reddit fired a popular liason between Reddit's staff and its community, Victoria Taylor, without first alerting its users, which led to many of the site's sections shutting themselves down in protest. On the same day, Pao was also accused by a former employee of terminating his employment while he was being treated for cancer.