Two New York Times reporters resigned amid public controversies on Friday — with science reporter Donald McNeil and Andy Mills, a producer who helmed the botched “Caliphate” podcast, each stepping down.
In announcing his resignation on his website, Mills cited resurfaced allegations that he sexually harassed coworkers from his previous job as a producer for the WNYC show “Radiolab,” including giving one an unwanted backrub.
In his statement, he admitted to that behavior, and to pouring a drink on a coworker’s head at a drunken bar party seven years ago.
“I look back at those actions with extraordinary regret and embarrassment,” he wrote Friday.
In his own statement of resignation, McNeil admitted that he used a racial slur on a 2019 New York Times trip to Peru for high school students while repeating the term used by a 12-year-old.
McNeil’s statement was tweeted by Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple.
Wemple added that in a note to staffers, top Times editors Dan Banquet and Joe Kahn said, “We do not tolerate racist language regardless of intent.”
