A woman who starred in a popular YouTube show was fired by media giant Hearst, with her claiming she was terminated in retaliation and the company saying she was insubordinate and a bully.
June Jiuxing Xie, 33, argues that she was fired for being an active member of a burgeoning union after she gained viral fame as the host of Hearst’s food brand Delish’s hit series ‘Budget Eats.’
Xie claims she was fired a month after she had turned down an opportunity to turn Budget Eats into an A&E Networks TV show, having rejected the offer at the time because she didn’t ‘feel comfortable engaging in this project if I am to be on Hearst’s payroll, with Hearst’s involvement.’
Sources at Hearst said that attitude was part of the company’s problem with her, including a prior incident where she’d called Delish Food Director Robert Seixas a ‘s**t manager.’
A woman who starred in a popular YouTube show was fired by media giants Hearst, with her claiming she was fired in retaliation and the company saying she was insubordinate and a bully
Some at the company told Business Insider that she was often extremely open about how she felt about Hearst and her bosses, having been reprimanded by HR for the comment.
They claimed she would also publicly call out other managers in company Slack channels and was a forceful organizer for the Hearst Union alongside colleagues from the likes of Esquire and Cosmopolitan, also owned by Hearst.
She turned down nearly $10,000 in severance that would’ve required her to sign a non-disclosure agreement and said she was fired for being critical of the company, with the declining of the TV offer used as an excuse.
An HR rep for Hearst, however, said Xie’s actions negatively affected Hearst’s relationship with A&E.
For her part, Xie said: ‘I just need to have some self respect, I’m not saying I’m completely devoid of responsibility for being fired, but there were some very wrong things going on here.’
Xie – born in China but emigrated to New York as a child – began working at Delish on a freelance basis in 2018, getting a full-time gig a year later at a salary of $45,000. She became active in her union drive as a representative for the food site’s workers.
Budget Eats began in 2020, seemingly by accident as Xie was testing the idea of working from home. The premise of the show was simple: she goes as far as she can to stretch a meal out of a meager budget.
June Jiuxing Xie, 33, argues that she was fired for being an active member of a burgeoning union after she gained viral fame as the host of Hearst’s food brand Delish’s hit series ‘Budget Eats’
Xie claims she was fired a month after she had turned down an opportunity to turn Budget Eats into an A&E Networks TV show, having rejected the offer at the time because she didn’t ‘feel comfortable engaging in this project if I am to be on Hearst’s payroll, with Hearst’s involvement’
The first episode, ‘I Lived On A $5 A Day Budget For A Week In New York City,’ drew two million views and became a fast hit.
Zach Lennon-Simon, the editor for the viral hit, called the reaction to Budget Eats ‘like seeing Beatle-mania in real life. ‘I was getting messages from people who didn’t talk to me in high school saying they watched it.’
Xie was given a company award and a Webby, while becoming one of its most-viewed series, according to Lennon-Simon. She was given a raise to $81,000 a year in June 2020, just a month after Budget Eats debuted.
However, her success never stopped her desire for reform at work, having been inspired by a slideshow at a union workshop that showed characteristics of ‘white supremacy culture,’ believing it to have nailed the culture at Delish.
She became active about stopping burnout for workers, saying: ‘I would like to point out that even the smallest task being added to my plate become contributors to burnout over time’ and claiming Editorial Director Joanna Saltz personally thanked her for her candor.
Sources at Hearst said that attitude was part of the company’s problem with her, including a prior incident where she’d called Delish Food Director Robert Seixas a ‘s**t manager’
Zach Lennon-Simon, the editor for the viral hit, called the reaction to Budget Eats ‘like seeing Beatle-mania in real life
In June 2022, Hearst executive director for TV and film Jude Harris made connections to lead to a development deal to take the show to a bigger level.
Hearst has a partnership with Disney that leads to projects often showing up at A&E Networks and they felt Budget Eats would be a success for a larger audience.
At the time, Xie appears conflicted between the stardom the show had given her and her disatisfaction with her bosses, most frequently with Seixas.
She compiled a 48-page dossier detailing how Seixas would cancel meetings and not reschedule, as well as giving vague directions and disagreements over editorial directives.
Xie had some support within the company, with former Delish editor Felicia LaLomia saying: ‘I very much felt like June was our voice. She was never afraid to speak about working too much or people being overwhelmed on the team — just asking questions that might create problems.’
Lizz Schumer, senior editor at Good Housekeeper who worked with Xie on union organizing, said: ‘She’s a vocal person in general and does not mince words. It’s our opinion and our perspective that that had a huge role in how she was treated.’
However, some disagreed with this style, with one anonymous staffer having recorded her in a private meeting in which staffers who were with the union complained about management and sent them to higher-ups, saying Xie made them uncomfortable.
The combination of her troubles with Seixas and managers, as well as what she felt were insufficient contract negotiations with the union, at one point she quote tweeted a recap of a bargaining session by writing: ‘F**k Hearst. F**k. Hearst.’
Hearst HR held a series of meetings with Xie in August to try and understand her concerns. Xie assumed that she was going to be punished, so she brought Lennon-Simon as a union representative.
Lennon-Simon said that the difference was Xie offered structural solutions, whereas the HR reps wanted her to change her tone in how she complained.
The combination of her troubles with Seixas and managers, as well as what she felt were insufficient contract negotiations with the union, at one point she quote tweeted a recap of a bargaining session by writing: ‘F**k Hearst. F**k. Hearst’
Joanna Saltz, editorial director at Delish, said she was surprised by Xie’s firing
Xie continued to clash with Seixas, at one point calling him a ‘s**t manager’ – violating company policy, according to HR – and saying ‘he had the personality of a scab.’
She put it even more bluntly, saying what she believes she said was: ‘I find it really hard to work under someone who I perceive to be s****y at their job.’
HR then went on to accuse and punish Xie for ‘racially charged comments’ on Slack. Xie believes it’s because she shared a presentation with Seixas about white supremacy culture in the workplace.
Xie claimed she wasn’t accusing Seixas – who is black – or anyone of being a white supremacist.
She instead said she wanted to explore whether Delish exhibited the traits of white supremacy in its management structure.
Former Delish editor Felicia LaLomia saying: ‘I very much felt like June was our voice. She was never afraid to speak about working too much or people being overwhelmed on the team — just asking questions that might create problems’
HR then went on to accuse and punish Xie for ‘racially charged comments’ on Slack. Xie believes it’s because she shared a presentation with Seixas about white supremacy culture in the workplace
HR sent a message saying that it was her final warning and that she’d violated Hearst’s bullying policy.
Xie said she was trying not to break the rules and felt ‘in a strictly professional decorum sense’ she had crossed a line.
However, eventually she said: ‘I simply ran out of energy to police myself that way considering we were coming up on two years of bad faith bargaining, combined with completely opaque managers who insisted they valued transparency and communication.’
The last straw, for Hearst, appeared to be when Xie rejected the TV deal. She felt that her vision might be diluted by being on television and that she was offered just $1,750 for the deal at the development stage.
On September 6, she told Jude Harris, Hearst’s development executive, that she did ‘not want to complicate my relationship with Hearst any further’ and turned down the show.
The last straw, for Hearst, appeared to be when Xie rejected the TV deal. She felt that her vision might be diluted by being on television and that she was offered just $1,750 for the deal at the development stage
Lizz Schumer, senior editor at Good Housekeeper who worked with Xie on union organizing, said: ‘She’s a vocal person in general and does not mince words. It’s our opinion and our perspective that that had a huge role in how she was treated’
On September 6, Xie told Jude Harris (pictured right), Hearst’s development executive, that she did ‘not want to complicate my relationship with Hearst any further’ and turned down the show
A month later, Hearst HR held a meeting – which was recorded – with Xie where they fired her, saying: ”It was brought to our attention that you recently removed yourself from a project without consultation from the business or with management, and that decision had business implications and should have been discussed with the project lead.’
Xie claimed that she consulted with Harris, but HR claims ‘that was not communicated.’
HR did not say which member of the editorial department chose to fire Xie, simply saying: ‘There was an executive decision that was made by the most senior leader within Edit, and they see it as insubordination. In conjunction with the challenges of your recent behavior they do not feel that it’s beneficial to continue this working relationship.’
The decision led to the remaining video staff holding what was termed as a ‘contentious’ meeting with editorial director Joanna Saltz, who pointed to HR and said she was surprised by the decision.
Others claimed they were told that Xie had ‘damaged’ Hearst’s relationship with A&E, with one source saying the two sides continue to work together on other ideas.
Some Delish staffers claimed they were told that Xie had ‘damaged’ Hearst’s relationship with A&E, with one source saying the two sides continue to work together on other ideas
The Hearst Union has filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the government’s National Labor Relations Board over Xie’s firing, with union members rallying outside of company headquarters in early December.
The final episode of Budget Eats was posted to the Delish site two weeks ago.
Xie said she hopes to continue in the space somewhere: ‘My life revolves around the making of food. I also think that there is a market that’s maybe not very profitable, but is slightly more meaningful than making recipe videos.’
She added: ‘I loved my work. I love food, which constitutes 90% of my waking life.’
A spokesperson for Hearst said of the story: ‘The information you’ve been provided is not accurate – nevertheless and without addressing those inaccuracies, we do not discuss personnel matters.’
