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On March 23, 2025, Canadian journalist and former editor of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter, sat down with Page Six to discuss his memoir When the Going Was Good. During the conversation, he reflected on the yesteryears of the Oscars afterparty that the magazine organized. Interestingly, it was Carter who launched the much-coveted party.
In his book, he mentioned that film producer Harvey Weinstein was banned from the party. Weinstein frequently arrived with uninvited guests and intimidated the staff. Although the ban was temporary in the beginning, it had to be put in place later on. Speaking to the news outlet about the producer’s ban, Graydon Carter said:
“He got banned from everything because he was rude to the staff and I didn’t like that.”
According to IMDB, during his tenure at Vanity Fair, the magazine earned 14 National Magazine Awards, including two for General Excellence. He was inducted into the ASME Hall of Fame. Additionally, he is the only editor to have been named Adweek magazine’s Editor of the Year twice.
Graydon Carter co-founded Spy magazine in 1986 alongside Kurt Andersen and Tom Phillips. Before that, he spent five years as a staff writer at Time and later joined Life as a staff writer in 1983. Before taking the helm at Vanity Fair, he served as editor of The New York Observer.
Editor Sara Marks maintained a "complaints box" where staff could suggest celebrities to be banned. The media outlet noted that Courtney Love was added to the list after she approached Graydon Carter, demanding her manager be allowed in because he had her money, car keys, and substances.
More about Graydon Carter’s experience of hosting a party and his work at Vanity Fair
Graydon Carter mentioned that if he were to host another event, it would likely be an Emmys party since most conversations about entertainment revolved around television. He also admitted that he hasn't watched the Oscars in years. Speaking about his experience of throwing a party, he said:
“I don’t know why I thought that. I had not thrown any big parties up to that point. But I do believe that, if you think there is a possibility of failure, don’t have too many eyes on it.”
The first gathering in 1994 was relatively small, with around 150 guests for dinner and another 150 to 200 joining after the show. When discussing his relationship with former colleague Anna Wintour, he described it as mixed.
He said, sometimes, she was warm and welcoming, while other times, she saw him as someone to hand off her car keys to. Graydon Carter appeared on CBS Sunday Morning on March 23, 2025. Anchor Jane Pauley asked how he was good at hosting parties, to which he said,
“We had no VIP sections. Once you got in everybody is the same and with a party it's about the right curation of people.”
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, when asked about his vision for Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter explained that he aimed to simplify the writing style, moving away from its overly elaborate tone.
He also wanted to create a more collaborative work environment, as the office atmosphere was tense and unwelcoming when he arrived. He described it as a difficult place, where he didn’t feel comfortable bringing his children. His goal was to reshape the workplace by moving away from the old ways of operating.
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