Troy Young, president of Hearst Magazines, has reportedly stepped down from that role following a New York Times story alleging that Young engaged in creepy behavior and created a toxic work environment. In the article, “Hearst Employees Say Magazine Boss Led Toxic Culture,†published on Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire employees complained of “discrimination†and “tokenism†in staff meetings and said Young often made “lewd, sexist remarks.†One story involving Young alleged that at a Cosmopolitan holiday party in 2013 he told a young female staffer “she should have inserted her fingers into herself and asked her date if he liked her smell,†after she described a bad date she had gone on with a man who complained about his ex-girlfriend’s odor. Another incident involved Young visiting the Cosmopolitan offices, picking up sex toys that had been sent to the magazine, and asking if he could keep one, then remarking about the holes in the toy that he’d “definitely need the bigger one.â€
Young addressed the complaints about his behavior in a statement to the Times included in the article, saying, “Specific allegations raised by my detractors are either untrue, greatly exaggerated, or taken out of context. The pace of evolving our business and the strength of my commitment is ambitious, and I sincerely regret the toll it has taken on some in our organization.†He also addressed the 2013 Cosmopolitan holiday-party incident specifically, claiming, “Candid conversations about sex defined the Cosmo brand for decades, and those who worked there discussed it openly,†in another statement to the Times. On Thursday, the Times confirmed in a separate report that Young had officially resigned from his role as president of Hearst Magazines. In an email to all employees, Hearst’s chief executive officer, Steven Swartz, wrote, “Troy Young and I have agreed that it is in the best interest of all of us that he resign his position as president of Hearst Magazines, effective immediately.â€