Celebs Who Can't Stand Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour is, inarguably, one of the most recognizable faces in fashion. The editor-in-chief of Vogue and artistic director of the magazine's parent company, Condé Nast, is synonymous with style and has been working in the fashion biz since the '70s. According to Business of Fashion, following a move from her native England to New York, Wintour got her start Stateside working as a junior fashion editor at Harper's Bazaar. She then jumped from magazine to magazine and quickly rose through the editorial ranks, before being crowned editor-in-chief of British Vogue in 1985. Just 10 months after returning to New York in 1987 to run House & Garden, she swooped into the top role at Vogue and has been there ever since.
In addition to being a staple on the fashion scene, Wintour earns a reported $4 million per year and had got an estimated net worth of $50 million. What's more, her alleged yearly $200,000 clothing allowance is higher than any employee's salary. For all her power and rank, however, Wintour seems to lack a penchant for building personal relationships. At least, that's what the designers and celebrities listed below would tell you.
Here are the celebs who simply can't stand Anna Wintour.
Tim Gunn doesn't even look Anna Wintour in the eyes
Fashion guru and Project Runway star Tim Gunn won't be hanging with Anna Wintour anytime soon. The pair's feud began in 2010 after Gunn alleged in his book, Gunn's Golden Rules, that the most unforgettable fashion moment he's ever witnessed was Wintour being carried down five flights of stairs after a fashion show.
"Knowing she famously dislikes riding in elevators with other people, I thought, 'How will she ever get down?'" Gunn wrote (via ABC News). Hurrying over to the elevators, he "looked over the stairway railing" to find that her two "bodyguards had made a fireman's lock and were racking her from landing to landing ... [with Wintour] sitting on their crossed arms." Gunn then went over to the window to see that they had also "carried her to the car," adding, "And I thought: I will never forget this."
Four years later, Gunn confirmed to Page Six that "all hell broke loose" after the story went public, claiming that Wintour had demanded a retraction, which he refused. "I don't look her in the eyes, because I will be turned into stone," Gunn quipped, later revealing on The Meredith Vieira Show that their relationship is "hostile." He also threw shade at Vogue, saying, "There is so much that happens at that unique publication that is so of another world and another planet. I'm happy to have a bad relationship with it, because I wouldn't want to have a good one."
André Leon Talley revealed his emotional scars
André Leon Talley and Anna Wintour appeared to have an unbreakable bond (they'd worked together since the early '80s), but appearances can be deceiving. In the lead up to the September 2020 release of his memoir, The Chiffon Trenches, Talley spilled the tea on his former boss. According to book excerpts obtained by Page Six, he claimed he was fired from his position as Vogue's editor-at-large in 2018 because, "I had suddenly become too old, too overweight, too uncool."
Talley painted a brutal picture of Wintour, writing that she allegedly didn't have "the decency and kindness" to call or email him about the firing: "Simple human kindness. No, she is not capable." He also revealed that when he began to struggle with weight after the death of his grandmother in the mid-'90s, Wintour reportedly offered him a gym membership, then held an intervention years later. "It was explained that my weight was out of control and I was being sent off to rehabilitation at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center," he wrote (via Vulture). "... Maintain your dignity, I thought. Just keep it together until you can get out of here."
It's no wonder, then, that Talley claimed he suffered "huge emotional and psychological scars" while working at Vogue. He continued, "The Empress Wintour, in her power, has disappointed me in her humanity. Our friendship has layered with thick rust over the years ... I am no longer of value to her."
Gwyneth Paltrow, Amy Schumer, and Tina Fey hated Anna Wintour's Met Gala
The Met Gala is one of the most star-studded events of the year and has regularly been dubbed "fashion's biggest night out," but it seems not everyone loves Anna Wintour's grand bash at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2013, Gwyneth Paltrow vowed to erase the event from her social calendar, telling USA Today, "I'm never going again." Why? "It was so un-fun," she explained. "It was boiling. It was too crowded. I did not enjoy it at all."
Amy Schumer had a similar experience when she attended the event in 2016, later admitting on The Howard Stern Show that she hates lavish parties because "it's people, like, doing an impression of having a conversation." Of the Met Gala, Schumer told the shock jock, "I left not the second I could. I left earlier than I should have been allowed ... I got to meet Beyoncé and she was like, 'Is this your first Met Gala?' And I was like, 'It's my last.'"
Meanwhile, Tina Fey, who attended way back in 2010, bluntly told David Letterman it's "a jerk parade." "It is so unbelievable ... Clearly, I'll never go again," she proclaimed. Not holding back, the Mean Girls star explained, "You go and it's this beautiful space and it's just every jerk from every walk of life is there wearing, like, some stupid thing." While Fey seemingly blacklisted herself from Wintour's event, both Schumer and Paltrow eventually returned in 2017 (and The Politician star made another appearance at the 2019 gala).
Giorgio Armani slammed Anna Wintour for skipping his show
It's pretty safe to say that legendary fashion designer Giorgio Armani, whose net worth is believed to be $8.4 billion as of 2020, doesn't need any validation. And yet, when Anna Wintour decided to skip his show on the last day of Milan Fashion Week in 2014, he took notice — and let the world know. During the press conference that followed his catwalk presentation, the Italian designer appeared to be in a "combative mood," according to WWD, due to the fact that Wintour didn't show up. "There are some who prefer to snub the Giorgio Armani show and go to Paris," he told reporters, adding, "She took an airplane, dumped Mr. Armani and went to Paris."
Despite voicing his unhappiness at being the only major label to show that day due to some supposed scheduling mishaps, it was still Wintour's behavior that seemed to get to Armani the most. "Why should I always be the moron [translating from an Italian expletive] to be penalized because of a person, who, for better or for worse, like or dislike it, is powerful? I feel penalized," he continued. "She said she was sending her people. But if you go to see your dentist and he puts you in the hands of his assistant, what's your reaction?" Armani added, "She is influential and powerful. But, perhaps, I'm influential as well." No kidding, Mr. Armani.
Isaac Mizrahi accused Anna Wintour of body shaming him
In 2019, fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi claimed that he, too, had suffered the repercussions of Anna Wintour's reported body shaming and learned first-hand what it meant to fall out of her favor. Despite the pair's longtime friendship spanning three decades, Mizrahi dished the dirt on some alleged toxic moments in their relationship in his memoir, I.M.
Revealing the Vogue editor-in-chief's supposed habit of making fun of his weight, Mizrahi wrote (via Radar Online), "She was really concerned for my happiness, always asking about the men I was dating." However, he added that she would allegedly never miss an opportunity for "making note of my weight, congratulating me when I was thin and teasing me when I wasn't."
Mizrahi went on to recall the moment he realized their friendship was over. "About six years ago [in 2013], I was backstage and asked with my usual angst whether the important editors were in place. Anna wasn't there yet; I assumed that she was detained," he noted, adding, "But after about twenty minutes it was obvious she wasn't coming and we filled the seat. It was a blow." These days, it seems his and Wintour's bond has been shattered for good. "We don't see each other anymore," Mizrahi concluded.
Melania Trump dissed Anna Wintour through a spokesperson
Anna Wintour misses Michelle Obama ... and Melania Trump couldn't care less. The pair's petty feud began in 2019 when, during a CNN interview, Wintour appeared to ignore the fact that Trump was the new first lady. Asked about Vogue's foray into politics, which included putting Obama on the cover three times, Wintour proclaimed, "I don't think it's a moment not to take a stand ... You have to stand up for what you believe in and you have to take a point of view." Addressing the "tradition at Vogue to photograph the first ladies when they first came into office," Wintour sang Obama's praises, noting, "She was fearless and it was just such a joy for all of us that work in fashion."
Clearly missing from the interview was any mention of Trump or the fact that she didn't get her own Vogue cover. The third wife of Donald Trump shot back via spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham, who told USA Today, "To be on the cover of Vogue doesn't define Mrs. Trump, she's been there, done that long before she was First Lady. Her role as First Lady of the United States and all that she does is much more important than some superficial photo shoot and cover." Grisham continued, "This just further demonstrates how biased the fashion magazine industry is, and shows how insecure and small-minded Anna Wintour really is. Unfortunately, Mrs. Trump is used to this kind of divisive behavior." Yikes.
Azzedine Alaïa threw shade at Anna Wintour's icon status
Many consider Anna Wintour a fashion industry icon, but late fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa was not one of those people. The pair's feud began in 2009, when Alaïa's work wasn't included in the Costume Institute's exhibit, "The Model as Muse." According to WWD, the snub caused a number of Alaïa's muses, like Naomi Campbell, to skip the gala altogether, and Alaïa didn't mince words when he proclaimed that Wintour "behaves like a dictator ... but I'm not scared of her or anyone."
This animosity escalated two years later, when the Tunisian-born designer, who was heralded for having "changed the fashion landscape as we know it," told Virgine magazine (via HuffPost), "[Wintour] runs the business very well, but not the fashion part. When I see how she is dressed, I don't believe in her tastes one second." Noting that "she hasn't photographed my work in years," Alaïa told the outlet, "American women love me; I don't need her support at all."
"She is just doing PR and business, and she scares everybody," Alaïa continued, before adding with a laugh, "But when she sees me, she is the scared one." Ensuring Virgine that he wasn't alone in his sentiment — "Other people think like me, but don't say it because they are afraid that Vogue won't photograph them" — Alaïa concluded with the biggest diss of all: "Anyway, who will remember Anna Wintour in the history of fashion? No one."
Kimye and Anna Wintour are the ultimate frenemies
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West appear friendly with Anna Wintour, but according to countless reports, the behind-the-scenes truth is very different. While Kimye may now be a staple at the Met Gala, E! News reported that Wintour allegedly "resisted" allowing Kardashian to attend "for years," because she was "refusing to accept reality shows into the exclusive realm of the A-list."
Kim K wasn't allowed inside the event until 2013, when West performed and invited her as his plus-one. Since then, she's scored her own prestigious invites, but reportedly received a letter from Wintour, who was "so pissed off" that Kardashian had broken her No Selfie rule in 2015. Wintour also publicly snubbed West in 2011, when The New York Times asked her to comment on his debut fashion show, and she replied, "Ask someone else." She later admitted to leaving West's 2016 show early.
But the biggest point of contention came from Wintour's apparent refusal to put Kardashian on the cover of Vogue. In 2014, West allegedly confronted her in-person at the Beverly Hills Polo Lounge because, as Radar Online noted, he found the situation "insulting." Wintour eventually conceded, putting Kimye center-stage that March. However, during a talk at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she seemed to throw shade at the couple again, saying (via Time), "I think if we just remain deeply tasteful and just put deeply tasteful people on the cover it would be a rather boring magazine."