Why Former W Editor Stefano Tonchi's Suing Condé Nast — And They're Firing Back

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Who Is Stefano Tonchi? New Details On Former W Magazine Editor And Why He's Suing Condé Nast Getty Images
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When Condé Nast sold off W Magazine, it ousted Stefano Tonchi as its editor. Now, he's suing the venerated fashion magazine, and they're trading barbs in the press. Who is Stefano Tonchi, and how did all the drama get started?

Let's look at what we know about this latest drama to rock the fashion world. 

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It all started when Condé Nast sold off W Magazine. 

Condé Nast sold W Magazine to Future Publications back in June 2019. Tonchi, who served as the editor of the publication for nine years, was subsequently ousted as the editor and he replaced by Sara Moonves (who served as the magazine's style director before becoming the editor). It should be noted that Sara Moonves is the daughter of disgraced CBS executive Les Moonves, and the step-daughter of Moonves' wife, Julie Chen. 

Stefano Tonchi subsequently sued the magazine's owner. 

"In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court, Tonchi alleges that Condé Nast improperly denied him severance pay as well as a bonus. He is asking for damages totalling nearly $1.1 million," reported The Business of Fashion. 

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Condé Nast says they fired him with just cause. 

Condé Nast's contention is that they fired Stefano Tonchi for good cause. The outlet reports that because they let Tonchi go for a good cause, that exempted the company from paying out either his severance pay or his bonus. Further, Condé Nast says that Tonchi "interfered" with the sale of the magazine to its new owners. 

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Stefano Tonchi remains unbothered. 

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“Stefano’s been swanning around town since Thursday, hitting up every show and making the rounds of the late-night circuit, including a fun drag-performer-filled rave thrown by Tod’s at Palais de Tokyo. He’s also been seated front-row at the shows," reports Page Six.

But Condé Nast has no problem slamming him. 

In a different report, Condé Nast slammed Tonchi and claimed he gave out confidential information to both the press and potential bidders, which interfered with the sale of W Magazine to its new owners. As a result, Condé Nast claims that Tonchi received benefits "solely for himself," and they therefore weren't obligated to pay him anything. 

Is Stefano Tonchi an extortionist?

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Condé Nast's position is that Stefano Tonchi's actions caused the magazine to be devalued by more than $15 million. "[Tonchi] disloyal actions were designed to, and did, interfere with the sale process, which resulted in a final price of up to $15 million less than first-round indications," reported The Fashion Law blog.

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Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.