Vogue editor-at-large Gabriella Karefa-Johnson wipes job title from Instagram after anti-Israel rants
Vogue contributing editor-at-large Gabriella Karefa-Johnson has quietly wiped her job title from her Instagram account after unleashing a rant in which she likened Israel to an “apartheid state” committing “genocide” and compared the Israeli Defense Forces to a “terrorist organization.”
The 32-year-old editor and stylist — who in 2021 became the first black woman to style a Vogue cover — has sparked outrage as she lashed out against some fashion insiders who questioned her beliefs in recent days.
A spokesperson for Vogue distanced the magazine and its parent company, Condé Nast, from Karefa-Johnson’s views.
“Gabriella’s social media posts and opinions are her own and do not represent those of the company,” the rep said.
A source close to the situation emphasized that Karefa-Johnson is not a full-time employee at the Anna Wintour-run glossy, adding that the stylist was not instructed by anyone at Condé Nast to scrub her editor title from her Instagram profile.
Until Tuesday, Karefa-Johnson’s profile said she was the global contributing editor-at-large for Vogue. Now, the profile merely says “Many things.”
Karefa-Johnson declined to comment.
Karefa-Johnson — who has styled the likes of Vice President Kamala Harris, singer Selena Gomez, poet Amanda Gorman and her self-proclaimed friend, the model Gigi Hadid — ruffled feathers when she went on a rant on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas terrorist massacred at least 1,300 children, women, men and elderly people in Israel, and captured roughly 200 hostages.
“It’s so disappointing to see the utter lack of understanding of the basic tenets and tactics of colonization, and one’s willingness to justify and defend those systems which have only ever oppressed,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories in response to Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza. “Damn. I hate when Instagram shows me what I hope I never know about the people I follow and their horrifying belief systems.”
The stylist, who has also worked for brands like Calvin Klein, Suart Weitzman, Joseph Altuzarra and retailer Target, questioning how people could say “I stand with Israel” while continued strikes hammered Gaza, following Hamas’ refusal to return the hostages.
“I cannot believe that the world is watching in silence as a GENOCIDE — a mass Palestinian extinction plan — is happening before our very eyes,” she continued. “These are WAR CRIMES.”
“‘A mass Palestinian extinction plan’ is very specific language to equate Israel with Nazis,” an outraged fashion executive told The Post. “It’s very manipulative and sick.”
Karefa-Johnson posted a bitter exchange between her and former French Vogue stylist Celia Azoulay, who told the contributing editor-at-large that she should “show the same compassion with Israeli civilians getting murdered.”
Karefa-Johnson hit back, saying she never denied that Israelis were murdered but that the number of Israelis harmed was “far less” than the number of Palestinians in the retaliation.
She then turned to the IDF, saying that the defense unit has “killed thousands” of Palestinians this year — “not Hamas.”
“IDF is a torture agency sponsored by the Israeli aparheid state,” Karefa-Johnson added.
Azoulay balked at the comparison of the nation’s defense forces to the terrorist organization of Hamas, which brutally slaughtered babies, raped women and burned people alive during their attack.
“You are ignorant and can’t even have a constructive conversation,” Azoulay wrote.
Karefa-Johnson also posted another heated exchange with fellow stylist Braydon Nelson, who wrote to her, “You sound as though you are supporting the pain that is being put on innocent Jewish people. Your ignorance is shocking — but then again you got your ‘platform’ from being bullied by a celebrity.”
Nelson was referring to Karefa-Johnson’s spat with Kanye West last year.
West insulted the Vogue editor after she criticized his “White Lives Matter” T-shirts that he included in his Yeezy fashion show, calling them “deeply offensive, violent and dangerous.”
West mocked Karefa-Johnson’s sense of style, and also posted a photo of her with the caption: “This is not a fashion person,” which he quickly deleted.
At the time, Vogue came to the defense of its editor, writing in an Instagram post: “Vogue stands with Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, our global fashion editor at large and longtime contributor. She was personally targeted and bullied. It is unacceptable.”
