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Several Vanity Fair staffers are reportedly threatening to "walk out" if the magazine puts First Lady Melania Trump on its cover, the Daily Mail reports.
Global editorial director Mark Guiducci floated the idea of a cover story on Trump, which was reportedly met with fierce backlash from some employees.
“I will walk out the motherf**king door, and half my staff will follow me," an editor told the Daily Mail.
“We are not going to normalize this despot and his wife; we’re just not going to do it. We’re going to stand for what’s right,” the unidentified staffer added. “If I have to work bagging groceries at Trader Joe’s, I’ll do it. If [Guiducci] puts Melania on the cover, half of the editorial staff will walk out, I guarantee it.”
Several other employees dismissed the threats, claiming there was no way their colleagues would actually give up their jobs in protest of the cover story.
“It’s all talk,” one employee said. “If they put her on the cover, people will protest and gripe about it, but I don’t see anyone quitting such a prestigious job over that.”
“Honestly, there will be people who push back, but it’s ultimately Mark’s decision. He’s the one who will sink or swim over that choice, not the rest of us,” the employee added.
Melania was previously snubbed from Vanity Fair and Vogue, which is published by the same company, Conde Nast, during President Donald Trump's first administration. Former First Lady Michelle Obama was featured on the cover of Vogue three times during former President Barack Obama's administration.
Melania has, however, claimed she has "no interest" in appearing on the magazine's cover in the past.
“Look, I’ve been there on the covers — on the cover of Vogue, on the covers of many magazines before … We have so many other important things to do than to be on the cover of any magazine,” she told FOX News via the New York Post. “I think that life would not change for anybody if I’m on the cover.”