Jonathan Friedland, Head of Communications at Netflix, has been dismissed after making racially insensitive remarks during internal meetings. It has been reported that Mr Friedland used the ‘N-word’ in a “descriptive” manner on at least two different occasions.
Mr Friedland is said to have first used the word in a public relations meeting during a discussion about the use of it in comedy. After the meeting he apologised to those who had raised concerns with regards to his use of it. However, only a few days later he used the word again with two black members of the organisation’s HR team, who had met with Mr Friedland to discuss with him the use of the word in the initial public relations meeting.
Netflix’s Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive, Reed Hastings, commented (via an internal memo, which has been published by the Hollywood Reporter):
“his [Mr. Friedland] descriptive use of the N-word on at least two occasions at work showed unacceptably low racial awareness and sensitivity, and is not in line with our values as a company”
Following his dismissal, Mr Friedland posted the following comment on Twitter:
“Leaders have to be beyond reproach in the example we set and unfortunately I fell short of that standard when I was insensitive in speaking to my team about words that offend in comedy.”
Netflix To Educate Staff
As a result of Mr Friedland’s actions and dismissal, Netflix will be looking to educate their staff in relation to race, nationality and gender identity within their organisation.
Mr Hastings apologised to staff at Netflix for having not acted sooner, and went on to say the following in the internal memo:
“Going forward, we are going to find ways to educate and help our employees broadly understand the many difficult ways that race, nationality, gender identity and privilege play out in society and our organisation.
“We seek to be great at inclusion, across many dimensions, and these incidents show we are uneven at best. We have already started to engage outside experts to help us learn faster.”
Comment
To ensure that employees are treated consistently, employers should have in place an up to date and accessible equal opportunities policy and an anti-harassment and bullying policy. They can set out examples of the types of conduct that would not be accepted in the workplace, as well as the possible consequences for those that break the rules.
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