SHAKE-UP

Essence CEO Steps Down Amid External Review Into Harassment Claims

An anonymous group of staff members accused CEO Richelieu Dennis of creating a “poisonous culture” with sexual harassment and abuse of power.

Two days after a group of anonymous staffers at Essence wrote an essay alleging bullying and a “poisonous culture” at the company, the company announced that CEO Richelieu Dennis will be stepping aside to allow for an external review. Dennis—who was accused in the essay of having only a “surface-level commitment to Black women” that is “driven by greed and a debaucherous sexual appetite”—will be stepping back “from day to day operations” while Carolina Wanga will now serve as interim CEO, the company said in a statement. While Essence on Monday denied the allegations of pay inequality, sexual harassment, and intimidation detailed in the essay published on Medium a day earlier, by Tuesday night the company vowed to hire law firms “and other independent external experts” to review the accusations in the anonymous blog post. “Essence is grateful and proud that efforts we have supported and amplified to protect Black women and promote women’s rights have opened up more opportunities for more of our voices to be heard… It is of critical importance to us that there is no question about who we are, what we represent and what we believe in,” the company said.