The Atlantic magazine announced that it has severed ties with one of its prominent contributors after he was accused of raping another journalist nearly three years ago.
Celeste Marcus, editor-in-chief of the cultural and political magazine “Liberties,” posted on her social media page “X” that German-born political scientist and author Yascha Mounk (41) was arrested in her apartment in June 2021. He claimed that he raped her.
Speaking to the Post, Mounk said: “I am aware of the horrific allegations against me. They are completely untrue.”
On Sunday, Marcus posted to X a screenshot of a Jan. 8 email he sent to The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg and the magazine’s editor-in-chief Adrian La France.
“I just published an essay about rape, including my own personal experiences with rape, in Liberty’s magazine, where I am the editor-in-chief,” Marcus wrote in an email.
“It has been two and a half years since the rape, and I think it is past time for everyone to know that the rapist was Yasha Mounk.”
Marcus told Goldberg and LaFrance, “Your famous publication has a rapist on its staff.”
“Just after midnight on June 25, 2021, he raped me in my apartment,” she wrote in the essay, suggesting that the alleged incident took place in Washington, DC. “Believe me, this is not a far-fetched or mischievous allegation.”
Marcus added in her essay, “I didn’t report the rape to the police because I was so broken at the time that I could barely function.” …Maybe it would only bring more pain and that would have been just for me. ”
Mounk is a freelance journalist whose byline has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Slate, and Zeit Online. He became known for his “woke” ideology and skepticism toward “cancel culture.”
Last year, Mounk published her book, The Identity Trap: Stories of Ideas and Power in Modern Times, criticizing the overemphasis on race, gender and sexuality in liberal politics. Mounk also runs a podcast called “The Good Fight,” which is described as “a podcast that explores ideas, policies, and strategies for defeating authoritarian populism.”
Anna Bross, a spokeswoman for The Atlantic, issued a statement Sunday saying the magazine was “aware of the allegations regarding a freelance contributor.”
“The accused freelance contributors are not employees of Atlantic,” Bross said.
“We have not published any new work by our freelance contributors since learning of the accusations, and we suspended our relationship with them last month when we first learned of the accusations.”
In the latest edition of Liberty’s magazine, Marcus wrote an article titled: “After Rape: A Guide for the Survived”
Marcus did not name Mounk in his essay, but revealed his identity in an X post that included screenshots of emails sent to Goldberg and LaFrance.
According to Marcus’ essay, Mounk told Marcus, “It wasn’t rape.”
In a statement to the Post, Marcus criticized The Atlantic for not keeping it informed.
“I sent essays to Mr. Goldberg, some of which treated my rape as if it were an insignificant trauma,” Marcus said in an emailed statement to the Post. Much has been written about the devastation caused by this.”
“He has chosen to withhold transparency about the actions taken after my accusations, if any.”
Marcus told the Post in a statement: “I cannot overstate how painful that choice was for me.”
“I was prepared that the investigation would definitely cause some pain, which would be alleviated by the fact that I would have the opportunity to present evidence and make my case.”
“I wasn’t prepared to be ignored.”
The Post has reached out to The Atlantic for additional comment.
