An event tech company known for championing progressive values and community events is copping backlash after firing an employee who was allegedly filmed making racist comments.
Bevy CEO Derek Anderson announced the employee’s termination on Twitter in late September.
.@BevyHQ has zero tolerance for discriminatory behavior of any kind. Yesterday an employee engaged in behavior contrary to our values and has been terminated. We apologize deeply to all involved.
— Derek Andersen (@DerekjAndersen) September 26, 2021
According to EventMB, Anderson was referring to a video posted by Frederick Joseph, the New York Times best-selling author of The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person.
The footage shows the ex-Bevy employee, who was identified as Emma Sarley, trying to slap Joseph’s phone out of his hand while he confronts her. It also shows a witness confirm Joseph’s claim that the woman told him and his partner to “stay in [their] hood”.
https://twitter.com/FredTJoseph/status/1441919836112650242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1441919836112650242%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.insider.com%2Fwoman-accused-telling-black-dog-walker-stay-in-hood-fired-2021-9
Joseph also commented on his tweet tagging Anderson and Bevy’s Twitter accounts.
https://twitter.com/FredTJoseph/status/1442131864009904130
Twitter users were divided over whether Bevy’s handling of the situation was fair, with some users commenting that Sarley should sue Bevy for firing her without an investigation.
Others, who were in favour of the decision, asked if the company’s “zero tolerance” police extended to Anderson accompanied by screenshots of tweets that appear to show the CEO calling people “r*tarded”.
Australia’s largest consulting firm, PwC, recently revealed it was investigating alleged racist behaviour at a staff trivia night where HR executives dressed as “a bat from Wuhan” and mocked Chinese accents.
Featured image source: Twitter/@FredTJoseph
