Cameron Strang takes leave of absence from Relevant

The founder and CEO of Relevant magazine is “stepping away” from the evangelical Christian publication after several former staffers raised concerns about his past behavior, which they described as racially insensitive and toxic.

Relevant founder Cameron Strang announced his leave of absence in a post published on the magazine’s website on September 23. He did not dispute the accounts of former staffers and apologized for his past actions, which he repeatedly described as toxic.

“Over the last week, I’ve heard from former members of the Relevant team pointing out long-term insensitivity and poor leadership on my part,” he wrote. “I’ve heard about patterns of toxic communication that have caused pain for members of my staff. I’ve learned how my insensitivity has hurt people, and when it came to women and people of color on our staff, I was blind as to how some of my statements were especially insensitive and hurtful.”