British-born conservative columnist Andrew Sullivan has resigned from New York Magazine, claiming a 'critical mass' of staff no longer wanted to associate with him due to his critiques of critical theory and woke culture. The 56-year-old, who worked at the publication for four years, said colleagues believed that any writer not actively committed to critical theory in questions of race, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity was actively harming co-workers merely by existing in the same virtual space.
Sullivan, a former editor of The New Republic and writer for Time, The Atlantic and The Daily Beast, has drawn fire for defending aspects of The Bell Curve, a controversial 1990s academic study. In recent weeks, he was reportedly barred from writing about anti-racism protests across the US. In a column titled 'Is There Still Room to Debate?', he described a campaign to quell dissent from the belief that America is systemically racist.
Sullivan's departure follows that of Bari Weiss from the New York Times, who resigned this week citing an 'illiberal environment' and bullying by colleagues. The resignations come amid growing turmoil in US newsrooms, with 153 journalists, writers and academics—including JK Rowling, Noam Chomsky and Margaret Atwood—signing a letter warning that cultural institutions face a 'moment of trial' amid powerful protests for racial and social justice.
The letter, published in Harper's Magazine, argued that new moral attitudes and political commitments tend to weaken norms of open debate and toleration of differences in favour of ideological conformity. It triggered a backlash, with some claiming it reinforced injustice. President Donald Trump has seized on the issue, warning at a Fourth of July rally that 'cancel culture' is a political weapon driving people from their jobs and shaming dissenters.
