Yascha Mounk. Photo/Katerina Sulova. CTK via AP Images.
The Atlantic said it has suspended its relationship with prominent author Yascha Mounk after he was accused of rape by writer Celeste Marcus.
Marcus, the managing editor of Liberties, a culture and politics magazine, chronicled her alleged sexual assault in a piece called “After Rape: A Guide for the Tormented.” She did not name Mounk, who serves as a contributing writer to The Atlantic, in the Jan. 2 article.
Mounk denied the allegation in a statement to Mediaite: “I am aware of the horrendous allegation against me. It is categorically untrue.”
On Sunday, Marcus took to X, formerly Twitter, to share an email exchange she had with Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, and Adrienne LaFrance, its executive editor, about her allegation.
“Exactly four weeks ago I sent [Goldberg] & [LaFrance] the email below telling them my rapist works at [The Atlantic],” she wrote. “Mr. Goldberg replied that the allegation was taken extremely seriously. I have not gotten a single update since.”
“I will not be raped with impunity,” she added.
Marcus wrote in her email on Jan. 7:
I’ve just published in Liberties, where I serve as managing editor, an essay about rape which includes a memoir of my own rape. As you will see from the essay my rapist was a writer who works at a magazine. It has been two and a half years since the rape, and I believe it is past time for you to know that the rapist was Yascha Mounk. You have a rapist on the staff on your illustrious publication. He raped me in my apartment after midnight on June 25, 2021. Believe me, this is not a wild or mischievous allegation. I’m not quite sure how I intend to proceed, but I’m telling you and a few reporters who have expressed interest in the story after contacting me in connection with another, very similar case.
Goldberg replied the next day that he was thankful to Marcus for bringing the matter to his attention. He expressed sympathy and said he was “taking this allegation extremely seriously.”
Soon after Marcus posted the email exchange on X, The Atlantic released a vague statement that did not name Mounk but described him as a “freelance contributor” and “not an employee of The Atlantic.”
“We are aware of the allegation concerning a freelance contributor to The Atlantic,” said Atlantic communications chief Anna Bross. “We take such allegations seriously. The accused freelance contributor is not an employee of The Atlantic. We have not published any new work by the freelance contributor since being made aware of the allegation and we suspended our relationship with the freelance contributor last month when we first learned of the accusation. We will, of course, be following any potential new developments in this matter.”
Mounk’s last piece for the magazine was published Dec. 8.
“I sent Mr. Goldberg my essay, which is in no small part about the wreckage wrought by being treated as if my rape was an insignificant trauma,” Marcus wrote in a statement to Mediaite.
“He chose to withhold transparency about action taken — if any was indeed taken — after my allegation was made,” she said. “I can hardly overstate how painful that choice was for me. I had prepared myself for the pain an investigation would surely yield, pain which would be mollified by the fact that I would have the opportunity to submit evidence and make my case. I had not prepared myself to be ignored.”
A spokesperson for Johns Hopkins University, where Mounk serves as a professor, said they learned of the allegation on Sunday.
“Pursuant to our obligations under Title IX, the university has an established and rigorous processes for addressing allegations of misconduct and has referred the information to our Office of Institutional Equity for careful review,” the spokesperson told Mediaite.
In her piece for Liberties, Marcus offered a guide for victims reeling in the aftermath of sexual assaults. She described her own alleged assault as well, writing that it happened when she was “in and out of sleep” and was jolted awake “when he started moving fast inside me.” She wrote that she told him to stop.
Mounk has yet to comment publicly on the allegation. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment. He has not posted to X, where he has a large following, since Jan. 7, the day Marcus sent her email to Goldberg.
This story has been updated with a statement from Mounk and Johns Hopkins University.
