André Leon Talley Reveals He Was Drastically Underpaid At Vogue, Says He’s ‘Been In Communications’ W/ Anna Wintour After She Addressed Lack Of Diversity

André Leon Talley, Anna Wintour

André Leon Talley Reveals He Was Drastically Underpaid At Vogue, Says He’s ‘Been In Communications’ W/ Anna Wintour After She Addressed Lack Of Diversity

Former Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley is spilling more tea about his relationship with Anna Wintour and his time at the fashion magazine. As previously reported, in 2020 André Leon Talley released his memoir The Chiffon Trenches where he called out Anna Wintour for her alleged ill-treatment towards him and others in the fashion industry. February of this year André Leon Talley also made headlines after news broke that the 72-year-old fashion icon was facing an eviction from the home he has lived in for almost 20 years. During a recent interview with Tamron Hall, André shared that he and Anna Wintour are seemingly working on rebuilding their friendship. He said,

“I have since been in communications with Anna Wintour, since she made her announcement about her lack of diversity in Vogue. And she has certainly accelerated inclusivity of diversity of Vogue on the covers [and] in the content. So we have been in communications by email strictly on birthdays and holidays.”

When asked how he would describe the current state of their relationship he said,

“We are friendly and we care about each other. And in this friendship of over four decades; having this year of reflection in the pandemic, being at home, and reflecting on this book and what it meant for the fashion world- I realized in thinking a lot about Anna Wintour.”

“In this complicated friendship, in this passive-aggressive friendship we sail by each other’s point of call, we sometimes miss each other’s point of call. But somehow we navigate back around. And I’m looking forward to when Anna Wintour calls me and says ‘Come to my house in Bellport for the weekend.’”

During his conversation with Tamron Hall, André Leon Talley also spoke briefly about his living situation as well. Because it’s a current legal battle André didn’t say too much about the eviction he’s facing but he did mention that he’s faithful everything will work out in his favor.

“As James Baldwin once said, ‘Everything in one’s life depends on how that life accepts its limits.’ I will not be limited. I will only hope for the best outcome that this place that I call my sanctuary will be my sanctuary. But you know, as one of my minister friends says in Atlanta Georgia, ‘ God has never lost a battle in one’s individual life.’ So I have to look at it that way.”

Before the interview ended André revealed to Tamron Hall that he was getting paid far less than his colleagues during his time at Vogue. He said,

“I just found out two weeks ago from someone of authority that women at Vogue, high, high rate fashion editors made close to a million dollars. I never made that much in a year. I made almost $300,000, but people on the same level, maybe they were doing more work than the fashion photoshoots, were making $900,000 a year.”

He added,

“They don’t make that anymore, but this is, this what comes when you live in America, when you’re a Black person, you have to wake up and you know there’s a double standard.”

What are your thoughts on what André Leon Talley shared? Let us know in the comments below.