People Magazine Sued for Discrimination

A former editor at People magazine says the publication discriminated against her and is biased against African-Americans in general. Tatsha Robertson, 48, joined People after a stint at Essence magazine and says that executive editor Betsey Gleick treated her like a second class-citizen. “You need to talk like everyone else here. You’re not at Essence anymore,” Gleick reportedly told Robertson. According to Robertson, People is “a discriminatory organization run entirely by white people who intentionally focus the magazine on stories involving white people and white celebrities.” Gleick allegedly left Robertson out of important meetings and struck down African-American-focused story ideas, including one about a model who was killed (according to the suit, Gleick told Robertson the victim looked like a “slut” and the magazine wasn’t interested). “You know the rule—white suburban women in distress,” Gleick allegedly told her.