Alison Roman says a resurfaced Myspace photo of her isn't an offensive 'Chola' costume, but a San Francisco-inspired Amy Winehouse

• The same day that Bon Appétit Editor in Chief Adam Rapoport was called on by some of his own staffers to resign over a resurfaced photo of him dressed in "brown face," a similar photo of Alison Roman resurfaced as well.
• Roman, who was heavily criticized — and had her New York Times column put on hold — after she made cutting remarks about Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo, immediately acknowledged the old Myspace photo on Twitter.
• While journalist Yashar Ali said the photo depicted Roman wearing an offensive "Chola" costume, Roman said it was San Francisco-inspired Amy Winehouse costume that "reads as culturally insensitive."

June 8 was an eventful day for the food media world when it came to bad costume choices. The same day that Bon Appétit Editor in Chief Adam Rapoport was condemned by his own staffers for a resurfaced photo that appeared to show him in "brown face," former Bon Appétit senior food editor and New York Times columnist Alison Roman had to address a resurfaced photo of her own seemingly offensive costume.

Journalist and Twitter personality Yashar Ali posted that a source sent him the photo of Roman, and it was also still publicly accessible on her archived Myspace account at the time of publication. Ali wrote that it depicted Roman "dressed up as a Chola from a party."

—Yashar Ali (@yashar) June 8, 2020

"Note her hoop earrings, fake tattoo on her chest, and her makeup," Ali wrote.

Cholas are part of a Mexican-American subculture that has a distinctive style and aesthetic. The style, while prevalent, has also often been imitated in racist costumes. "Chola" is also sometimes used as a derogatory term to denigrate the subculture.

But Roman quickly quote-tweeted Ali to say that she was not dressed as a "Chola," but rather as a San Francisco-inspired Amy Winehouse.

"This incredibly embarrassing picture was taken in 2008, I was 23 & living in SF," Roman wrote. " [...] it reads as culturally insensitive, and I was an idiot child who knew nothing about the world/how this would be perceived and I'm sorry."

When certain Twitter users pressed her on details of the costume, including a chest tattoo that doesn't appear to match Winehouse's single chest tattoo, Roman said she probably wasn't thinking that far.

—alison roman (@alisoneroman) June 8, 2020

Just weeks prior, in May 2020, Roman faced intense backlash for comments she made about Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo — two Asian women — during an interview. Her New York Times column was temporarily put on hold, and Roman apologized after Teigen responded with further criticism of Roman's statements.

Canela López contributed to this report.

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