“Kill All Vegans”: MasterChef UK Critic And Food Magazine Editor Quits After His Joke Goes Awry

Noted food critic and the editor of a British food publication, Waitrose Food magazine, had to resign after his private email in which he had joked about "killing vegans" and force-feeding them meat went public, the CNN has reported.

William Sitwell quit his job as editor of Waitrose Food, the magazine of a UK supermarket chain, after his mocking email response to a freelance journalist pitching a series on plant-based recipes was outed.

Responding to food journalist Selene Nelson’s proposal for a plant-based meal series, Sitwell had written,“How about a series on killing vegans one by one. Ways to trap them? How to interrogate them properly? Expose their hypocrisy? Force-feed them meat? Make them eat steak and drink red wine?”

Shocked by the tone and tenor of his response, Nelson decided to make the email public.

Sitwell’s response generated a huge backlash, forcing Waitrose to issue a statement . The company said that “Even though this was a private email, William’s gone too far, and his words are extremely inappropriate, insensitive and absolutely do not represent our views.”

Sitwell joined Waitrose Food magazine in 1999, and also appears on BBC television cooking program "MasterChef."

Sitwell called the comments "an ill-judged joke in a private email" and has apologised "to anyone who has been offended or upset by this."

John Brown Media, which produces the magazine for Waitrose, declined to comment on whether Sitwell continues to work within the company.