The editor of the infamous rape hoax at the University of Virginia (UVA) is temporarily replacing the editor-in-chief who is resigning from the magazine.
Noah Shachtman, the editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone, is resigning from the magazine reportedly due to editorial differences between himself and the chief executive, The New York Times reported. He told staffers his last day of running the outlet will be March 1 and called it “the right decision,” according to the outlet.
“It’s the right decision, one Gus Wenner and I made after many discussions about the direction of the brand,” Mr. Shachtman wrote in his resignation letter.
Wenner announced Shachtman will be temporarily replaced by Sean Woods, the magazine’s deputy editor, and its digital director, Lisa Tozzi, according to the Times. Shachtman will remain at Rolling Stone as a contributing writer.
Woods edited the notorious University of Virginia (UVA) rape hoax article called “A Rape on Campus” in November 2014. The now-retracted story detailed an alleged gang rape of a student, known in the article as “Jackie,” after she had been taken to a fraternity party by another student. Rolling Stone retracted the story in its entirety on April 5, 2015.
Wow. Sean Woods, who was editor of the UVA rape hoax article, the worst piece of journalism in recent history, will serve as interim editor in chief. https://t.co/ntdfqef7sI
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) February 9, 2024
The 9,000-word article, written by Sabrina Rubin Erdely, detailed how Jackie was allegedly pushed through a glass table and pinned to the floor by shards of glass, The Guardian reported. It reported that seven men at the fraternity then allegedly raped her. Erdely did not fact-check her source, and Rolling Stone soon said their “trust in [Jackie] was misplaced.” (RELATED: Rolling Stone Reaches Final Settlement After Botched UVA Story)
Woods reportedly offered to resign, though former Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner would not let him, according to the New York Post. He reportedly admitted from the witness stand that the story was botched and “broke” many staffers at that magazine.
A federal jury in Charlottesville, Virginia, found Erdely and Rolling Stone guilty of defamation and ordered them to pay associate dean Nicole Eramo $7.5 million. Eramo, who was in charge of overseeing sexual assault incidents, said she was branded as the “chief villain” due to the article’s false story.
Shachtman expanded the magazine to publish investigations into prominent musicians and actors, the Times reported. It has since created podcasts, online commerce, licensing and films.
The magazine experienced a shakeup a few years ago when Jann Wenner, its founder and father of Gus, left the magazine in 2019, the Times reported. Wenner served on the board of directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation until being removed for controversial remarks he made about black and female musicians.