Hearst Magazines president resigns after report about inappropriate workplace behavior

The president of Hearst Magazines resigned shortly after the publication of a report detailing allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior.

Hearst’s chief executive, Steven Swartz, emailed staff on Thursday to say that he and company president, Troy Young, the subject of the explosive report, agreed it was in “the best interest of all of us” for Young to resign "effective immediately," the New York Times first reported.

Young was accused of sexual harassment and bullying multiple women. The alleged incidents date back to before 2018, when he was promoted from head of digital media to president despite four women reporting Young for inappropriate behavior to the human resources department or to senior executives.

In one instance, Young was accused of sending pornography to a high-level Hearst editor. Staffers also said he made lewd remarks regarding sex toys that had been sent to the office.

On Thursday, before resigning, Young sent an email apologizing to staff but also claiming the initial New York Times's report about his alleged misconduct was a misrepresentation of “the culture that we have built at Hearst Magazines.”

He said he was “deeply reflective on what I can learn from this moment” and that he was “committed to the work I need to do here." He added, "I recognize that the incidents cited in the NYT article are particularly offensive to women and I want to make clear they do not represent who I am as a person nor do they reflect some of the most important relationships in my life.”

Hearst owns many magazine brands, including Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, and Cosmopolitan.