On Saturday night, following an intense 48-hour period in which a debate around cultural appropriation blew up into a larger indictment of the Canadian media establishment, Jonathan Kay resigned from his position as editor-in-chief of The Walrus.
He shared the news with the CBC this morning, which CANADALAND has independently confirmed. Earlier Sunday morning, he posted a pair of cryptic tweets:
I’ve done something that’s going to make the twitterverse *very* pleased….
— Jonathan Kay (@jonkay) May 14, 2017
And if anyone needs me today, I will be in the cheap seats, watching the Jays. Phone blissfully off.
— Jonathan Kay (@jonkay) May 14, 2017
As late as Saturday afternoon, he was still introduced as The Walrus‘s editor on a CBC News Network debate on cultural appropriation:
Previously the comment editor at the National Post, Kay joined The Walrus in December 2014. His term as editor was marked by a renewed relevance for the publication — though that often came as a result of controversy, deliberately courted through its published work and less deliberately through the chaotic mismanagement behind the scenes.
We have reached out to publisher Shelley Ambrose for a statement and will happily update if we hear back.
Update (5/14/2017, 3:30 p.m.): In a Facebook post, Kay describes himself as only ever having been the The Walrus‘s “Ringo Starr”:
