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In March, VF published a barn burner of a story by Deanna Kizis: a 7,200-word feature about teenage star water polo player Aidan Romain, who was suing his old teammate Lucca van der Woude for alleged sexual assault and racist harassment. Romain was also suing the school they’d both attended, the elite Los Angeles academy Harvard-Westlake, for alleged inaction in the wake of Romain’s claims. A second alleged victim told Kizis that Van der Woude had also abused him, and that Harvard Westlake hadn’t done enough to protect him either. (The school and Van der Woude have both denied the claims.) Today, Kizis presents a follow-up revealing that Van der Woude has been accused of using antisemitic slurs, according to an amended complaint, and that Black parents at Harvard-Westlake say the school still hasn’t done enough to address racism and discrimination. “It appears to me that they’re just kind of treading water and hoping this moment will pass,” says one Black parent—pun not intended.

Elsewhere, Katie Nicholl and Erin Vanderhoof have all the details on Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s upcoming wedding.

HILLARY BUSIS,
SENIOR EDITOR

Former Harvard-Westlake Water Polo Star Faces Shocking New Allegations

BY DEANNA KIZIS

A newly revised lawsuit filed by water polo player Aidan Romain claims that in 2020, Lucca van der Woude told a Jewish peer words to the effect of: “Die in an oven.” Meanwhile, Black parents at Harvard-Westlake School say they are angry about the school’s lack of accountability in addressing discrimination: “Hopefully they are taking action. What action? I have no idea.”

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The Met’s Music Director Is Proving Timothée Chalamet Wrong

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Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin talks to Vanity Fair about bringing rock star vibes to the opera set.

From the Sports Issue

The Deep End

BY DEANNA KIZIS

In 2024, top water polo player Lucca van der Woude was arrested at Los Angeles’s Harvard-Westlake School—allegedly under suspicion of sexual assault. The criminal case against the player was closed, and the elite academy maintains it did nothing wrong. But a civil suit accuses the school of risking the safety of two students of color—while allegedly protecting the white teammate who made their lives unbearable.