Exclusive | Dan Wakeford out as EIC of celeb – Business News
Dan Wakeford is out as editor in chief of low-rent movie star gossip magazine Us Weekly, in keeping with a leaked memo obtained by The Post.
The 50-year-old former People boss introduced his departure from the publication in an electronic mail to staffers on Friday.
“After much consideration, I have chosen to leave my position as editor-in-chief of Us Weekly to develop my own creative projects in film and books,” he wrote. “My last day will be January 9, 2026.”
Wakeford stated he deliberate to contribute to particular tasks with the magazine. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal through Getty Images
But Wakeford hinted that subsequent 12 months his byline might nonetheless seem within the publication, which claimed a mixed print and digital circulation of 2 million final 12 months, in keeping with information from the Alliance for Audited Media.
“In 2026, I look forward to contributing to Us Weekly on special projects,” he wrote.
Us Weekly insiders advised The Post that Wakeford has been “forced out” as a result of he had didn’t land headline-grabbing exclusives with prime Hollywood stars.
“He promised them big people like Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston,” stated one source. “But he delivered Sandra Lee and Countess Luann.”
The prime story on Us Weekly’s web site on Friday night was an unique about how “Love Is Blind” star Alexa Lemieux “fired back” at claims made by her estranged husband, Brennon Lemieux, in a divorce submitting.
A separate source additionally claimed that Wakeford was not often within the workplace, selecting as a substitute to work remotely.
Insiders advised The Post that current Us Weekly covers beneath Wakeford’s management lacked the star high quality of earlier editions. This is an problem from 2018 after Britain’s Prince Harry married Meghan Markle.
“He was not really very hands-on,” the source advised The Post. “He was never there.”
The declare echoed an unique story by The Post final 12 months when Wakeford had a stint as the editor-in-chief of the ill-fated media start-up, the Messenger.
While he had a whopping $900,000 annual wage, sources advised The Post on the time, the positioning shuttered simply 9 months after its launch.
“People did not know he was British,” a Messenger staffer stated, including that the primary time they heard Wakeford communicate was during an emergency assembly shortly earlier than the company was shuttered in late January 2024.
Wakeford received his newest gig in March.
The leisure magazine, which is predicated in New York City, was based as Us, a bi-weekly, in 1977 by the New York Times Company, which bought it in 1980.
It has modified fingers a number of instances since then, turning into half of the McClathy Media Company that owns the Miami Herald in 2024.
The Post has approached a McClatchy spokesperson for remark.
