A Condé Nast journalist, who owns a $2.2 million brownstone in Brooklyn, has openly confessed to shoplifting, asserting that taking from large corporations isn’t ethically wrong.
Jia Tolentino, a contributor to The New Yorker, has argued that pilfering items from Whole Foods isn’t a big deal. She reasons that the grocery chain, under the ownership of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, can absorb such losses and is known for poor treatment of its employees.
During a discussion with millionaire influencer Hasan Piker and culture editor Nadja Spiegelman, Tolentino disclosed to The New York Times that she has taken small items, like lemons, as part of a broader conversation on the increasing trend of ‘micro-looting’.
Working with Vogue’s parent company Condé Nast since 2016, Tolentino expressed no remorse about stealing certain products. Her list extends to sharing her Netflix credentials and downloading music via others’ Spotify accounts.
She even mentioned she would support individuals who steal valuable art from places like the Louvre, highlighting that her views on theft depend largely on the identity of the victim.
“I believe that stealing from a large retail chain is not a significant moral wrongdoing,” Tolentino stated, though she also noted that such acts don’t hold much weight as forms of protest or activism.
‘But I did steal from Whole Foods on several occasions,’ said Tolentino, who has written two successful books.
Putting a woke and self-serving spin on her lawbreaking, Tolentino told of stealing from Whole Foods while involved with her neighborhood ‘mutual aid’ group that saw her go shopping for a friend called ‘Miss Nancy.’
Jia Tolentino, a writer at the New Yorker, proudly admitted to shoplifting because she believes it is not ‘morally wrong’ to steal from corporations
Tolentino lives in an opulent $2.2 million brownstone in Brooklyn, but argued this week that said she doesn’t believe it is a ‘moral wrong’ to steal from rich corporations – and added that she would ‘cheer on’ anyone stealing priceless art from the Louvre
Tolentino said when she would pick up food for her friend, she forgot items like lemons and decided to steal them rather than going through the hassle of standing in line to check out again.
‘I forgot four lemons. And on several occasions I was like, I’m just going to go back, grab those four lemons and get the hell out,’ she said.
‘But I didn’t feel bad about it at all.’
Tolentino sought to further justify her stealing by claiming that Whole Foods loses as much stock to its staff as it does to shoppers and implied that workers’ alleged mistreatment justified her antics.
‘These companies expect (stealing) from their employees that they are disenfranchising constantly,’ Tolentino said.
Tolentino, a staff writer at the New Yorker, lives in a sprawling five-bed, four-bath brownstone home in Brooklyn’s desirable Clinton Hill neighborhood, public records show.
The property sits a few blocks away from a Food Emporium supermarket and Family Dollar store – although Tolentino did not say whether she has stolen from those too.
Tolentino made the admission to the New York Times in a sit-down with culture editor Nadja Spiegelman, in a conversation about ‘why petty theft might be the new political protest’
The author, who is married to architect Andrew Daley, 40, bought the gorgeous brownstone with a $1.5 million mortgage in 2023.
The privileged pair also own a second home in the ritzy upstate New York town of Saugerties, a cabin bought with a $200,000 mortgage in 2018 that is now worth almost $500,000.
Asked if her lack of guilt was based on how she felt about Whole Foods as a corporation, Tolentino responded: ‘Yeah. It already felt like a bit of a compromise.’
‘At the time I was like, I had not been to Whole Foods. I had a bit more consumer discipline about where I was spending my money then, and I already felt like I was in the hole, even by shopping there,’ she said.
‘And it certainly felt, in a utilitarian sense, I was like, this is not a big deal.’
Piker – a self-described pro-Communism activist who has sparked backlash for often wearing expensive clothing and taking luxury trips – then chimed in to say he is ‘pro stealing from big corporations.’
The conversation was widely criticized even by the New York Times’ own famously-liberal readers, who flooded the outlet’s comment section to share their disgust with their pro-stealing opinions.
Tolentino made the shocking argument in favor of shoplifting in a conversation with avowed communist Hasan Piker
‘You are all part of the problem,’ one commenter wrote.
‘Can we all agree to crack down on the wealthy stealing instead of approving of everyone else stealing too? It’s just wrong.’
Another described the opinion piece from the Times as ‘appalling’, and argued that ‘retail theft hurts everyone’ including their employees.
‘If you can’t afford Whole Foods, go somewhere less expensive,’ they wrote. ‘Everyone should have food access but no one is entitled to shop at stores out of their price range and then steal items… Go without the lemons – sheesh!’
A commenter from Brooklyn added: ‘Gosh. I disagree with so much of the sentiment here.
‘There will always be injustice, unfairness, unethical-ness and there has always been. To use that as an excuse to surrender your own moral principles and justify partaking in what you know to be wrong, is madness and bad for everyone.
‘These folks have lost the plot.’
The Daily Mail has contacted the New Yorker, The New York Times, and Tolentino for comment.’
