Graydon Carter is currently promoting his new memoir, When the Going Was Good. It’s largely about his time as Vanity Fair’s editor-in-chief and what the media/magazine business was like in the glory days of the 1990s and pre-crash ‘00s. I skimmed through his interview with the Times of London, where he spoke a lot about his dealings with Donald Trump over the years and he remarked, “I don’t recognise this man. If it comes out in 15 years that this Trump was a Manchurian candidate, I wouldn’t be surprised. The Trump I knew was someone who just wanted to be liked.” He also bad-mouthed Anna Wintour and VF’s new EIC Radhika Jones. He said that Jones has made VF “less fun, less interesting and don’t even get me started on the dull covers.” Which… fair enough. I also think Jones is too cerebral for a VF editor.
The reason I skimmed that Times interview was because I wanted to see if a British outlet got Carter to talk about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They did not. The last time Carter was out and about and giving interviews, it was 2023 and he spent a good chunk of time criticizing the Sussexes and predicting that their marriage will last for “years not decades.” His site, Air Mail, has also spent a lot of time hitting Meghan in particular. Well, Carter also chatted with Maureen Dowd at the NY Times, and they played a game called “confirm or deny.” Dowd got him on the record about whether he thinks Harry and Meghan are, in Bill Simmons’ words, “f–king grifters.”
Confirm or Deny: Annie Leibovitz took your passport photo.
Graydon Carter: She took my passport photo.CoD: The two funniest non-comedians you’ve ever met are George Clooney and Anderson Cooper.
In both cases, they were so funny that I had to tell them to stop because I thought my trachea would break.CoD: Anna Wintour should retire.
Absolutely not. I think she can go on for decades.CoD: Putin once called you to get on the cover of Vanity Fair.
Deny.CoD: The Kushners are the new Kennedys.
Deny. Well, the new Bobby Kennedy juniors, if that’s the arm of the family you’re referring to.CoD: Taylor Swift has a lifetime ban from the Waverly Inn.
No, we adore Taylor Swift.CoD: Harry and Meghan are grifters.
Bill Simmons could say that. I never would. I’m not sure grifter is the right word. More “chancers,” which is an English expression for somebody who is on the make.CoD: The Democrats need a celebrity candidate in 2028.
Confirm. Well, they need a candidate, and whether it’s a celebrity or not, they’ve got a strong bench. It’ll take six months, and they’ll get things sorted out, and then there’ll be a force.
Americans don’t use “chancer” as any kind of descriptor, so I actually looked it up. Per dictionary.com, chancer is “an unscrupulous or dishonest opportunist who is prepared to try any dubious scheme for making money or furthering his or her own ends.” Like… Harry and Meghan got a Netflix contract? Meghan is investing in small, female-owned businesses? She’s doing a line of crepe mixes? Harry is working for a mental-health coaching business? What the f–k is so unscrupulous about any of this? The Sussexes really have the old guard royalist media on their heels, huh? In some ways, this is what Graydon Carter is describing in his memoir – he and the other tastemaker media types have seen their relevance dip to the point where they can’t control what people think of the Sussexes (or anyone), and it’s driving them crazy.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
