Culture

Three BIPOC ‘Bon Appétit’ Video Stars Quit After Struggling With Pay Inequity & Alleged Racism

Priya, Rick and Sohla have announced their departure from the Test Kitchen, after five weeks of failed "tortuous and dehumanising" negotiations.

by Michelle Rennex  7 August 2020
bon appetit BIPOC stars quit sohal priya rick

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After five weeks of contract negotiations, three of Bon Appétit’s six BIPOC staff have decided to quit Test Kitchen video.

Early this morning, popular creators Priya Krishna, Rick Martinez and Sohla El-Waylly — who was the first to call out the pay inequity and systematic racism within the company — all announced that they would no longer be appearing in video for Bon Appétit. 

Sharing the reasons for her decision on Twitter, Priya Krishna called out the video leadership team for their “lip service” during their “public reckoning” back in June.

Despite voicing “numerous complaints” about how BIPOC Test Kitchen members were “tokenised, carelessly framed as monolithic experts for their communities, used as props for white talent and not [being] given equal opportunities to be featured [in video]” throughout her time filming in the Test Kitchen, Priya said that most of her complaints were ignored or brushed under the rug.

“I was told by video leadership that things were changing and that there would be a huge push towards diversity. I was told I would receive a fair contract with equitable pay and opportunities for growth,” Priya wrote. “But it was all lip service. The contract I received was nowhere near equitable… [and] I have received no concrete update on the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on the part of video.”

Priya then went on to call the last few months “disappointing and insulting” as leadership refused to acknowledge her value to the company. The chef also took the opportunity to point out that some of her Test Kitchen colleagues have been “publicly supportive, but privately complicit” as they have interviewed new BIPOC video candidates who “they know will be underpaid”.

Ending her message, Priya said she was thankful for the platform Bon Appétit video gave her, but that the opportunity was no longer something she wanted to be a part of.

“I refuse to be a part of a system that takes advantage of me, while insisting I should be grateful for scraps,” Priya concluded. “I hope to find platforms that value me, treat me as a three-dimensional person, and provide a safe environment. Bon Appétit video is not that place.”

Also announcing his departure from the Test Kitchen on his social accounts, Rick Martinez noted that while he was “actually hopeful that things would change” after resignations took place at Condé Nast — the company that owns Bon Appétit — it was clear that he wouldn’t get a “fair pay rate” or a “comparable number of [Test Kitchen] appearances” to his white colleagues.

The Mexican-American chef also described the five week-long negotiations process as “tortuous and dehumanising”, and implored other marginalised groups to not accept things that they know is unfair just because they are “made to feel less than”.

According to the contracts viewed by Business Insider, the new pay structure offered a $1,000 USD day rate for hosted videos, $625 USD for appearances of two minutes and above, and $0 USD for any videos where the talent appeared for under two minutes. But while his contract included a guaranteed 10 videos per year, Business Insider reports that some white staff had guaranteed appearances of up to 60 videos written into their contracts.

“Even in a pandemic, during an economic recession, after I just closed on a house, I could not sign that contract,” Rick ended his message. “My happiness and my self-worth are more important to me than returning to the Test Kitchen.”

Sohla El-Waylly then posted on her Instagram story to share a short message about her departure from video, and her decision to still produce off-camera content.

“I’ve decided that I won’t be producing any more videos for Bon Appétit. But don’t worry, you’ll still find me at BA developing fun recipes and stories,” Sohla wrote. “No hate to the editors who decided to stay, it’s just not the right thing for me.”

As fans of the Test Kitchen YouTube channel heard the news, they took to Twitter to voice their disappointment in Bon Appétit for their mistreatment of their BIPOC staff, with many vowing to boycott the company completely.

In response, a Condé Nast representative said that the Test Kitchen channel will return in the coming weeks with “new and returning” talent.

“As new leadership at both Condé Nast Entertainment and Bon Appétit join the team in the coming weeks, new video programming with new and returning talent will also be announced,” the representative told Business Insider.