Variety Editor-In-Chief Claudia Eller To Take Two-Month Administrative Leave After Social Media Outburst

Mike Fleming Jr
·2 min read

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BREAKING: Claudia Eller, editor-in-chief of our sister publication Variety, will take a two month administrative leave after making an angry social media outburst in a heated moment.

This came after Eller wrote an article lamenting that Variety did not have enough diversity in its staff, and vowed to work to change things. She was challenged on social media and responded to a former employee at a rival trade, Piya Sinha-Roy, who is of South Asian descent. Eller called the woman “bitter,” leading to a continued heated exchange. After a meeting between Eller, PMC and Variety staffers who were offended by the back and forth, it was mutually decided it would be best for Eller to take some time away to consider her actions.

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While Eller is doing that, Cynthia Littleton will step in as interim editor. Littleton had been co-editor-in-chief along with Eller and Andrew Wallenstein, before stepping away from that role several years ago to focus on business reporting and take the title of Business Editor.

I’ve known, admired and competed against Eller for the better part of 30 years, and I can say with certainty that her response was reflective of her intensity toward a journalist who had been at a competitive publication. This has been an incredibly stressful, painful year for everyone, and it is a shame that she let her emotions get the best of her.

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