A magazine editor who quit following a controversial “killing vegans” comment has said threats were made against his baby and wife amid the fierce backlash.
William Sitwell stepped down from his position at Waitrose magazine last month after his controversial reply to a freelancer’s email suggesting a series on plant-based recipes.
The long-standing food writer sparked a swathe of vitriol when Selene Nelson shared his response which said: “How about a series on killing vegans, one by one.”
Mr Sitwell described this comment, which was published by Buzzfeed, as an "ill-judge joke".
In his first full interview since the furore, Mr Sitwell claimed he and his family had been the subject of “astonishing, revolting and obscene” comments in the aftermath.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, he said: “They encouraged me to eat more meat so I might die quicker. But, much worse, they also attacked my family.
“They said of my month-old-son, Walter: ‘Let’s fatten him up, kill and roast him.’
“There were threats to rape my wife, tie her up and cut off her genitals.”
He said another described him as “ugly waste of sperm”.
I've never known anything like it,” he said. “They were baying for my blood.”
He then claimed: “No one bays for the blood of a human more than a militant, raging vegan.”
Upon his resignation, after nearly 20 years of working with the magazine, Waitrose said it believed it was “the right and proper move”.
In a post at the time on Mr Sitwell apologised to anyone “genuinely offended”.
Writing on Instagram, he said he wanted to “reiterate my apology to any food- and life-loving vegan who was genuinely offended by remarks written by me as an ill-judged joke in a private email and now widely reported.”
