Anna Wintour's Staff Mutiny: 'Boss From Hell' Prompts Fury by Handing Top Magazine Job to 'Unqualified' Nepo Baby
Anna Wintour has sparked outrage among staff by hiring Mark Guiducci to run Vanity Fair, despite being 'unqualified' for the role.
June 20 2025, Published 1:10 p.m. ET
Anna Wintour has sparked a staff mutiny by handing a top magazine job to an "unqualified' Nepo Baby.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Vogue editor-in-chief blindsided employees by picking Mark Guiducci, 36, to run Vanity Fair last week, her daughter Bee Shaffer's close friend.
'Simply A Nepo Hire'
Staffer believe Guiducci only got the top job due to his connection with Vogue editor-in-chief Wintour.
An insider has alleged the decision has sparked immense outrage within the company, claiming that many Vanity Fair staffers feel like Guiducci is "not qualified" for the job and is simply a "nepo hire" due to his connection with Wintour's daughter.
A source said: "There's a real feeling of devastation and sadness (amongst the Vanity Fair staff).
“(They feel) that the person appointed to lead isn't qualified to do this job and isn't an experienced editor, he's a family friend of Anna's and her daughter."
Close Pals With Daughter
Guiducci is close with Wintour's daughter Bee Shaffer and the pair have regularly been seen at parties together.
Guiducci started his post-college career in 2010 at Vanity Fair as an assistant.
In 2017, he was named editor-in-chief of the art publication GARAGE Magazine, owned by VICE Media. It went out of print four years ago, a year after Guiducci left in 2020.
That same year, he took on the role of creative editorial director at Vogue and helped launch Vogue World, an annual fashion and cultural show.
'He's Not An Experienced Editor'
Wintour's choice failed to impress staff during his first briefing since taking charge.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the insider continued: "People are not on board with Mark doing this job," adding when Guiducci briefly spoke to staff following the announcement, it seemed "clear that he wasn't an experienced editor."
"When he was talking about the magazine, everything was very vague, there was no clear vision of what he wanted to do," they alleged.
"When Anna talked to the Condé Nast executives about this job search, she initially said she wanted to bring in an experienced journalist like Wired editor-in-chief (Katie Drummond).
"Anna interviewed a lot of accomplished editors, and we're not sure why she didn't select one of them... The staff was blindsided by the announcement."
Wintour headed off to New York for a wedding straight making her bombshell decision.
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Wintour jetted off to New York for Huma Abedin's wedding to philanthropist Alex Soros immediately after sharing the news, followed by a vacation, which irked staff even more.
The insider said: "After she announced this, she went to Huma's wedding, then went to a vacation, so people on the staff are wondering what they're supposed to do, there's no direction.
"She just left after announcing this."
Guiducci's friendship with Wintour's daughter Shaffer, 37, has spanned years and the two have been photographed together frequently, often at high-profile parties — something that allegedly hasn't gone unnoticed by the disgruntled Vanity Fair staff.
The magazine editor is giving daughter Bee more influence within her titles.
"Anna has tried to bring Bee more into the fold," the source claimed. "The thinking is that having Mark oversee Vanity Fair (will give) Bee an outlet to host parties and be part of the Vanity Fair."
Former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter expressed faith in Guiducci as a successor, despite working with him many years ago.
"Having worked with Mark, I know that he has so many of the skills necessary for the job at hand — and many that I did not have," the iconic editor told Breaker. "He's the perfect editor for the new Vanity Fair."
"Congrats to Mark Guiducci, the new editor of Vanity Fair," Brown separately tweeted. "He's a fabulous, fresh appointment with bags of flair and fun ideas."
