Refinery29 founder steps down amid racism accusations

Christine Barberich

 Christene Barberich, co-founder and longtime global editor-in-chief of Refinery29, announced that she would be stepping down from the head of the company on Monday. The cause? Accusations of racism and toxic company culture at the media business she helped create in 2005.

Refinery29 is the latest company to come under the microscope — and be found wanting — as conversations about race and representation continue to amp up across the United States. Former Refinery29 employees began speaking out about their experiences at the company after seeing the publication black out its homepage on June 2 for #BlackoutTuesday.

"Hey @Refinery29, cool blacked out homepage! But you know what real allyship looks like? Paying your Black employees fairly, having Black women in top leadership positions & addressing the microagressions your Black employees deal with from management on a daily basis," tweeted former employee Ashley Alese Edwards. 

Edwards's thread spurred a flurry of stories from other Black Refinery29 former employees, who described "atrocious" pay disparities, called the company "violently clueless about race" and recalled when the "EIC cried in a meeting bc someone said she was 'squeamish' about race and said she had to go home for the day."

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