Laura Hellmuth, editor-in-chief of Scientific American, resigns after facing intense backlash for an expletive-laden online rant calling people who voted for President Trump “shitbagists” on election night. did.
“After four and a half exciting years as editor-in-chief, I have decided to leave Scientific American,” Hellmuth announced. blue sky Account Thursday.
“I'm going to take some time and think about what's going to happen next (and go bird watching).”
The magazine's president, Kimberly Lau, said Hellmuth had decided to resign voluntarily.
She noted that while Mr. Helmut led Scientific American, the magazine “won major science communication awards and saw the creation of a reimagined digital newsroom,” which Mr. Helmut led. I was grateful that he was in charge.
“We wish her all the best for the future,” Lau said in a statement. washington post.
Lau said the magazine has already begun the search for a new editor.
The Post has reached out to Scientific American for comment on Helmut's resignation.
Helmut's resignation came after she made a series of social media posts on election night bashing those who voted for President-elect Donald Trump over Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Solidarity to all of you whose meanest, stupidest, most bigoted high school classmates are celebrating early results, because you throw them to the moon and they'll come back,” she wrote on social media platform Bluesky I wrote this in a post on November 5th.
In another post, Helmut wrote, “I apologize to my young voters that my Gen
“Every four years, I remember why I left Indiana (where I was born and raised), why I respect those who stayed, and why I strive to eliminate racism and sexism. “The moral arc of the universe does not bend itself,” she also wrote on election night.
Her post quickly sparked a fierce backlash on social media, with users calling for her resignation as she was unable to objectively carry out her job as editor-in-chief.
Hellmuth quickly deleted the post in the face of growing criticism online.
The next day, she shared Scientific American article The title is “Election sadness is real. Here's How to Cope,'' which features comments from Pauline Vos, a professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota and a psychotherapist.
In his article, Vos described the sadness of the election as “unresolved sadness.”
“It's not like someone's grief, where there's a death certificate and then there's a funeral and a ceremony of support and comfort. We're stuck with this. I wrote it as frozen grief. ,” Voss wrote.
Eventually Helmut I apologized on Nov. 7 for calling her comments “offensive and inappropriate” and using explicit language.
She also claimed to “respect and value people across the political spectrum.”
She deleted the post, but the screenshot is share X On Tuesday, a user asked: “Does the editor-in-chief of Scientific American look like someone who is committed to uncompromising scientific integrity?” Or does she look like a political activist who has taken over a scientific institution? ?”
The post caught the attention of Elon Musk, the platform's owner and vocal supporter of Trump, who responded to Helmut's rant, saying, commented“the latter.”
scientific american Official support for Harris Choosing a candidate for president over Trump is only the second time in the magazine's 179-year history that its editors have chosen him as a candidate for the White House.
Helmut has a Ph.D. According to the magazine, he earned a doctorate in cognitive neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley, and attended the science communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Website.
She said she previously worked as an editor at the Smithsonian, Slate, Science magazine and the Washington Post. LinkedIn profile page.
Hellmuth became editor-in-chief of Scientific American in April 2020.
