7 threads, if you dont know how Twitter works, click a tweet and read the following tweets beneath it


https://twitter.com/ABisi123/status/1275223015748493314
https://twitter.com/ABisi123/status/1275223514656706561

https://twitter.com/kokothenut/status/1275105990866845699

https://twitter.com/ivieani/status/1275206178411368450

https://twitter.com/ThatgirlXanan/status/1275255867353567232

https://twitter.com/AntoinetteIsama/status/1275126736397766660

https://twitter.com/seenahgee/status/1275283181525229568

but yeah this is disgusting and disappointing to read.

As a side note, does anyone have a history of Okp? How/when did we go from Quest and Angie to Oke?

The rampant misogyny on this Board only exists cuz its been in the Company all along.

d

I've always wondered what okayafrica even is

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

https://twitter.com/questlove/status/1275911598033567745

*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

Thank you for posting

I met him a couple of times so none of the accounts sound that much off brand. There was reference to EiC but not called out by name and I wonder if that's because she wasn't part of the problem or for other reasons.

I definitely think there is a lesson to learned that the shitty way you treat employees can now come to light in ways that they never would before social media, twitter specifically. I think every boss should be concerned it just takes a couple of tweets before you end up on that summer jam screen (BTW, is that an OKP phrase only).

That being said, I don't know how much of this beyond the norm of a scrappy underfunded startup. The most direct criticism is that dude was rude to people and played favorites.

It's impactful that several women came forward to speak in solidarity against dude, I hope it makes him and other male CEOs treat employees better, but I can't help but think they possibly torched their own careers.

A friend of my asked me to pass along the resume of his lady friend who wanted some D&I work at a large company. I passed it along to my other friend, who is a woman, and she got back to me and said "yeah, no, ain't no way I am co-signing this woman". It turns out that the article featuring the referral that my friend passed along was all about how she outed this company that she was hired to be a D&I consultant for being terrible at D&I and they didn't take her advice. My friend was like, how can I refer this woman when I know she will proudly trash us if it all doesn't work out?

It's the first thing I thought about when I read the tweets. Were the things they complaining about enough to want to risk your professional career? Can't call it.




**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

I think every boss should be concerned it just
>takes a couple of tweets before you end up on that summer jam
>screen (BTW, is that an OKP phrase only).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnXS1LWw3-s

https://twitter.com/campusvibesght/status/944197741013536769


Because you know who, did you know what

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

I didn’t know it was that serious. I thought it was mostly free contributions but I will admit I spend no time on the actual site.

As far as a shitty startup. That was my thought as well but it’s not one or 2. Shit seems like a serious problem. Then again, I hear the same thing at places like Complex and at record companies.

Always getting people to do more work for free in hopes of one day getting a legit title and some legit coin.

Not trying to shit on Black biz but it’s definitely one of the drawbacks. It’s much easier to take advantage of our own because most believe in the vision and want to be part of something that’s “Black owned”

My first job was for a Black owned company and my first paycheck bounced. Smh.

How the fuck???

Y’all never cease to amaze me

of course this all sounds normal to those that haven't done the work the acknowledge it in themselves.


d

BTW, "typical" is not interchangeable with "normal".

*********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

if not, then...

d

edit, you didn't *say* it did, so let me not put words in your mouth

I only read the first thread but it sounds like the standard operating procedure for many shitty startups.

It ain't right but it's pretty common for the leadership to use people like this.

Abiola Oke sounds absolutely awful and he should resign immediately

this is terrible. I'm so glad those women are speaking out

d

Mixes
http://www.mixcloud.com/rachel-stewart/
Jewelry
http://rachelstewartjewelry.com/

hi!

Sounds horrid btw

.

it's very weird how disconnected we are on the boards vs. the corporate site.



www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

My browser auto-fill on my computer and phone take me directly to GD, so I often forget that OKP is doing anything besides the boards.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

how long that been there?

seems like something i might have clicked. but that's up where i be playing keep away from these big ass aggressive ads.


peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

=========================================
I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just
focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and
not having much to show for it. (c) mad

it hasn't had a reply in five months, and the next newest one is from 2018

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

>
> it's very weird how disconnected we are on the boards vs. the
>corporate site.
>

I mean, I guess I don't even know what level of engagement would make sense. But I do find it bizarre that there's this loyal, engaged, built-in okayplayer community the brand doesn't seem interested in leveraging at all :(

I understand folks can just click on other parts of the site lol, or follow updates on other platforms, subscribe to newsletters, etc. But sometimes you gotta just market to ppl where they are lol (or, in this case, where they post). I imagine a lot of ppl engage with the site similarly to teknontheou.

For example, an anchored "This Week on Okayplayer" post of some sort with links to new content related to Black/Diaspora/African cinema in PtP would be dope. Maybe a similar tactic promoting content related to Black/Diaspora/African music in The Lesson. And, of course, a post promoting new commentaries, events, merch etc in GD.

Sure, it'd be another layer of curation for somebody... but is it too far a departure from work already being done to nurture the brand's other communities (eg. twitter, facebook)? The brand should take care of its own backyard too, imho. After all, its not like posters/lurkers here don't have networks outside okp; there's stuff folks could hear about in GD that they share elsewhere and so on.

It feels like maybe 50 but wouldn't be surprised if the actual number was something 250.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

There's way more lurkers (alot of the women who "left" but pop up when something they want to reply to, like this post, comes up).

At this site's height in the early to mid aughts, it had to have been 300 - 500 regular all-day-every day posters, plus the people who post every few days, plus another 1,000+ lurkers.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

edit: i've looked at the shop a couple times. thats about it

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

The daily Boondocks strips were always a must to read, I enjoyed checking out the reviews for music recs, and bought a few shirts. It wasn't until 08ish that I bookmarked the boards and never ventured to the front page again.

I think I would readthe front page sometimes because it had archives of the boondocks on it, iirc?

but with some rare exceptions I'm pretty sure that's the only time I've gone anywhere else on okayplayer

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

I never go anywhere else on the side but the boards. But this is terrible.

https://twitter.com/ivieani/status/1275903334168363009?s=20

and OKP's statement on Abiola was released too https://twitter.com/okayplayer/status/1275904165487669248?s=20

---

https://twitter.com/MeeshUniVerSoul


"She was on that tip about stoppin' the violence
About my people she was teachin' me..."

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

A lot of this stuff was already known it should not have taken this long and actually he should not have ever been hired in the first place, The things women have to go through just to keep a fucking job



Mixes
http://www.mixcloud.com/rachel-stewart/
Jewelry
http://rachelstewartjewelry.com/

“This was long overdue” quote that he made as part of his caption when he reposted OKP’s statement but truly all I could think was “WTF if it was long overdue why didn’t folks do anything about it before it had to get to this point???”

I get it I am not saying Quest is involved with day to day OKP stuff and I’m not saying he should be blamed but the general sentiment of “it was long overdue” is a weird one.

He may have just found out about it and that it's been going on for a long time all at once.


>I get it I am not saying Quest is involved with day to day OKP
>stuff and I’m not saying he should be blamed but the general
>sentiment of “it was long overdue” is a weird one.

Now that you say that, that could indeed be a possibility.

Although if that was the case he should have said that in his caption, otherwise I think it is fair assume it also could be true that he did know but didn’t try to change it until now.

is treated and how they talk about women, talk to, and with female guests and then tell me that he (and they) don't have his own issues with internalized misogyny

i stopped listening when they so were so terribly tone deaf around #MeToo

i just couldn't take it anymore

d

They dropped a Cee-Lo episode yesterday and I'm like...well shit. And I LOVE him...but that got the gas face

>They dropped a Cee-Lo episode yesterday and I'm like...well
>shit. And I LOVE him...but that got the gas face

yeah no lol

d

it's too many people talking about too many things they haven't really researched, I didn't listen to a metoo type episode but I can't imagine it would go well.


www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

they didn't have episodes specifically around metoo but when Stephanie Ruhle was on, there was a segment on it

other times when the topic came up organically, the comments of Quest & Phonte, and the laughter from everyone else, was stomach turning

d

for me when they dropped off Pandora.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

some kinda brother/sister style relationship to explain it...
but now that you mention it....I can see it...


"Get ready....for your blessing....."
"Bury me by my Grand-Grand and when you can come follow me"

This full story really sucks though. Surprised and disappointed.

Those women ABSOLUTELY ran the whole company and deserved much better.

It's good that the women spoke out and that the response was swift.

Ivie Ani's story was interesting, especially:
"The CEO would refer to himself as a journalist despite having no training, prior media experience, & a limited understanding of editorial."

and

"Abiola would talk about current & former employees in a personal manner to other staffers and ex-staffers

Looking back at how specific employees were treated and talked about by the CEO/higher-ups, it was unprofessional and constitutes a toxic work environment"


Those kinds of professional environments are the worst.

Somehow I'm not surprised this lasted so long with us having rjcc moderating the boards in such a toxic manner. It's like no part of OKP has any oversight to provide checks and balances. Quest seems like a great guy, but it seems he's just too busy to check in on the fuctioning of his own creation these days. He says it's long overdue, and he likely found out when the rest of Twitter did.

i cant imagine working in such an environment. im glad he has resigned and i hope things are changing for anyone still working there.

mistreated.

I remember opening up to male colleagues in the past about bs I was being pressured (or terrorized lol?) to do that they couldn't even picture someone bringing up to them. We might as well have had different titles/responsibilities (we did not).

I'd even say it's probably more uncommon to find an environment where there *isn't* some degree of workplace discrimination going on, lol.

Put it this way.. if you've ever worked somewhere where certain groups appear more or less segregated according to roles or seniority (eg. pretty much ALL of admin are black women; pretty much ALL the executives are white women 50+; pretty much ALL the most senior developers are white men <40, etc)... chances are someone's suffering some bullshit somewhere. ESPECIALLY for folks performing a role different from that which their group is most represented at the company (so based on my previous examples... a black female senior developer, or a black male executive under <50). Workplace bias is some insidious ass shit.

The rule of thumb probably doesn't translate well to the okayplayer situation since it's mostly black-operated, but ya. Most of us don't work at okp tho lol



>i cant imagine working in such an environment

while there are some elements of frustration that i can relate to, either directly or from other coworkers venting to me, i havent experienced anything like what is described. that doesnt mean it is not happening and has not happened where ive worked.

i know ive been close to the breaking point with what ive gone through, like i said, it doesnt even compare to what is described. i feel for them.

i hope at my previous job when i had some level of supervisory responsibilities i was not treating people like this. i think i always tried to fight for my peers and reports and to treat them equally. that doesnt mean there werent spots that i could have done better.

im so isolated at my current job that i dont know how much exposure i have to how others are being treated but i will be more vigilant.

that probably helped you as a supervisor, and it's the kind of thing that's harder to instill in leaders who lack it.

The willingness to interrogate whether you have succumbed to bias in your supervisory capacity, and a commitment to being more vigilant about workplace bias in general, both play important roles in what it will take to eliminate it.

to the table in the first place? Whenever I've seen nightmare bosses (not even criminal, just garden-variety bad bosses) they're either brilliant, bring in a ton of revenue, or they've been there so long the higher-ups just let them stay out of familiarity. Apart from the latter, did either of the other two apply to this guy?

to be the Black face of the company

*whistling*

Like, first of all, the toxicity described is itself so multi-dimensional. I mean there's the gender dimension obv, but so many other facets like ethnicity, race... even geography. For example I notice that even among what appears to have been a disproportionately immigrant, first-, and possibly second-generation African staff... that most of the women raising the allegations are West African (specifically, Nigerian) and multiple are of Yoruba descent (relevant bc, judging by his name, the CEO is as well) which at least one woman alluded to likely influencing relations further. Then, an ADOS-centered argument could probably be made (correctly, imho) that a disproportionately immigrant, first-, or second-generation African staff may have blindspots (or, tbf, bias) when it comes to the distinct roots (no pun intended), history, relevance, and (unequivocally Black American) cultural nuances of the Okayplayer brand specifically. And now there's multiple conversations brewing on twitter about the white female founding/ownership of Okayafrica, including how that may have shaped the political economy between them, the (black male) leadership/"face" of the brand, and the completely disempowered (predominantly black female) staff (I'm slightly less conflicted on this last issue given what we know about how capital is distributed in the US... the money to fund black spaces still has to come from somewhere, and I don't think black women can wait for racial wealth gap closure/diversification of the ownership class before being treated better/more fairly in the workplace).

I mean, where does one even begin?? Any one of these factors alone could have shaped okayplayer's business performance and outcomes, talk more of their intersection.

Other thing is - it's striking how reproducible, recognizable, and consistent the features of toxic work environments are. Regardless of industry. Like, I was mildly triggered reading some of these accounts lol. I'm not sure if it all should be attributed to scrappy startup culture either... Okayplayer is a decades-old brand and Okayafrica founded in 2011, no?? There's just certain policies and practices that should be well-established in orgs that age, imho. And if the financial struggles these women allude to are real, then there's likely been leadership issues even before this CEO (if not in style, perhaps structure).

I feel for these women bc I've worked in similarly toxic environments and know how it can affect ones wellbeing, and I hope the CEO follows up his departure with some serious learning, introspection, training, and transformation. Painful issues aside, it also just reads like he was a CEO overwhelmed, and perhaps out of his depth, and it probably affected the growth/evolution of the other okayniches which is unfortunate. I read Okayplayer has procured some external biz advisory services about next steps and, if true, that's comforting to hear. Maybe they should consider pulling an Alphabet and create an "OKP" or "Okaymedia" parent/umbrella brand identity, along with a corresponding leadership suite (of people with proven expertise running successful media enterprises) who focus exclusively on the unsexy stuff (eg operations, finance, HR, IT). Then run Okayplayer, Okayafrica, and other divisions with a middle management structure responsible for their own content, marketing, comms/engagement, business dev, etc. That way, if other okayunicorns (like Okayafrica) were to take off, of course it makes sense for them to have bigger budgets, exposure, etc but it should be able to occur without affecting other divisions or the parent/umbrella brand identity as a whole (as I feel Okayafrica in some ways sidelined Okayplayer under this CEOs leadership). After all, it's not like Google Maps growth compromised Gmail, right? And neither did the failure of Google+.

I'm sure the brand will sort itself out and pull through better than ever tho.

pointing it out. He's indeed Nigerian btw. It's the first question he answers in an interview with Ebro of Hot97 that I found when trying to find his origins.

He's over OkayAfrica, so I don't guess it's odd to have a second generation immigrant in that position. At least one of the women appears to be ADOS, but idk if she's a rarity or not. I was wondering if any ADOS men were employed there as well after one of the women says even her immediate supervisor was a white guy. I didn't even know OkayAfrica was founded by a white woman. It just gets more and more interesting.

>Like, first of all, the toxicity described is itself so
>multi-dimensional. I mean there's the gender dimension obv,
>but so many other facets like ethnicity, race... even
>geography. For example I notice that even among what appears
>to have been a disproportionately immigrant, first-, and
>possibly second-generation African staff... that most of the
>women raising the allegations are West African (specifically,
>Nigerian) and multiple are of Yoruba descent (relevant bc,
>judging by his name, the CEO is as well) which at least one
>woman alluded to likely influencing relations further. Then,
>an ADOS-centered argument could probably be made (correctly,
>imho) that a disproportionately immigrant, first-, or
>second-generation African staff may have blindspots (or, tbf,
>bias) when it comes to the distinct roots (no pun intended),
>history, relevance, and (unequivocally Black American)
>cultural nuances of the Okayplayer brand specifically. And now
>there's multiple conversations brewing on twitter about the
>white female founding/ownership of Okayafrica, including how
>that may have shaped the political economy between them, the
>(black male) leadership/"face" of the brand, and the
>completely disempowered (predominantly black female) staff
>(I'm slightly less conflicted on this last issue given what we
>know about how capital is distributed in the US... the money
>to fund black spaces still has to come from somewhere, and I
>don't think black women can wait for racial wealth gap
>closure/diversification of the ownership class before being
>treated better/more fairly in the workplace).
>
>I mean, where does one even begin?? Any one of these factors
>alone could have shaped okayplayer's business performance and
>outcomes, talk more of their intersection.
>
>Other thing is - it's striking how reproducible, recognizable,
>and consistent the features of toxic work environments are.
>Regardless of industry. Like, I was mildly triggered reading
>some of these accounts lol. I'm not sure if it all should be
>attributed to scrappy startup culture either... Okayplayer is
>a decades-old brand and Okayafrica founded in 2011, no??
>There's just certain policies and practices that should be
>well-established in orgs that age, imho. And if the financial
>struggles these women allude to are real, then there's likely
>been leadership issues even before this CEO (if not in style,
>perhaps structure).
>
>I feel for these women bc I've worked in similarly toxic
>environments and know how it can affect ones wellbeing, and I
>hope the CEO follows up his departure with some serious
>learning, introspection, training, and transformation. Painful
>issues aside, it also just reads like he was a CEO
>overwhelmed, and perhaps out of his depth, and it probably
>affected the growth/evolution of the other okayniches which is
>unfortunate. I read Okayplayer has procured some external biz
>advisory services about next steps and, if true, that's
>comforting to hear. Maybe they should consider pulling an
>Alphabet and create an "OKP" or "Okaymedia" parent/umbrella
>brand identity, along with a corresponding leadership suite
>(of people with proven expertise running successful media
>enterprises) who focus exclusively on the unsexy stuff (eg
>operations, finance, HR, IT). Then run Okayplayer, Okayafrica,
>and other divisions with a middle management structure
>responsible for their own content, marketing,
>comms/engagement, business dev, etc. That way, if other
>okayunicorns (like Okayafrica) were to take off, of course it
>makes sense for them to have bigger budgets, exposure, etc but
>it should be able to occur without affecting other divisions
>or the parent/umbrella brand identity as a whole (as I feel
>Okayafrica in some ways sidelined Okayplayer under this CEOs
>leadership). After all, it's not like Google Maps growth
>compromised Gmail, right? And neither did the failure of
>Google+.
>
>I'm sure the brand will sort itself out and pull through
>better than ever tho.
>

sentiment online, similar to what Moore and Carnell indulge in sometimes (I'm a daughter of West African immigrants/first gen, so it does hurt). But from what I've seen, the commentary's mostly been from other West Africans (at least on twitter), and a few media outlets. Not that the coverage has been favorable.

He was CEO of Okayplayer as a whole tho, not just Okayafrica. And I wasn't trying to imply that an immigrant, first-, or second-generation African shouldn't ever lead a Black American media brand or that a Black American shouldn't ever lead an African media brand. Moreso that diversity, representation, and inclusion are applicable goals in predominantly black spaces too.

You raise an interesting question about how we haven't really heard from many Black American/ADOS men on this issue (I mean, other than 15 and BT) and what their representation was like there. One could argue that Black American/ADOS men have been the dominant group within Black American brands in the music/culture space - or at least within those focused on Hip Hop - and it's notable that women have had issues in those black spaces as well. edit: i.e. maybe that has something to do with it??


>pointing it out. He's indeed Nigerian btw. It's the first
>question he answers in an interview with Ebro of Hot97 that I
>found when trying to find his origins.
>
>He's over OkayAfrica, so I don't guess it's odd to have a
>second generation immigrant in that position. At least one of
>the women appears to be ADOS, but idk if she's a rarity or
>not. I was wondering if any ADOS men were employed there as
>well after one of the women says even her immediate supervisor
>was a white guy. I didn't even know OkayAfrica was founded by
>a white woman. It just gets more and more interesting.
>

>sentiment online, similar to what Moore and Carnell indulge
>in sometimes (I'm a daughter of West African immigrants/first
>gen, so it does hurt). But from what I've seen, the
>commentary's mostly been from other West Africans (at least on
>twitter), and a few media outlets. Not that the coverage has
>been favorable.


Yeah that's interesting. I wouldn't be surprised to see Carnell or Moore speak on this and highlight what they call "masking ADOS failure", where the selling point of an American business is that it's all black while there are little to no ADOS present. This seems be partially what you're saying below. I hate that some of their followers can't just stick to that and the justice claim, but I guess you have those types and pretenders everywhere.


>He was CEO of Okayplayer as a whole tho, not just Okayafrica.
>And I wasn't trying to imply that an immigrant, first-, or
>second-generation African shouldn't ever lead a Black American
>media brand or that a Black American shouldn't ever lead an
>African media brand. Moreso that diversity, representation,
>and inclusion are applicable goals in predominantly black
>spaces too.



Word. That's true and sounds like something that needs to be raised amid all of this.


>You raise an interesting question about how we haven't really
>heard from many Black American/ADOS men on this issue (I mean,
>other than 15 and BT) and what their representation was like
>there. One could argue that Black American/ADOS men have been
>the dominant group within Black American brands in the
>music/culture space - or at least within those focused on Hip
>Hop - and it's notable that women have had issues in those
>black spaces as well. edit: i.e. maybe that has something to
>do with it??
>



I would be interesting to hear more from women in these spaces. Frankly, I just find it quite odd when men at the top hire a bunch of women to be under them. That just seems suspicious on its face to me... similar to what you were saying in reply 50.

i only come here for the boards, but damn.

i have no idea how okp is structured as a business. was it only / mostly this dude? (seems doubtful, but i have no idea how many ppl worked for okaycorporate).



peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

=========================================
I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just
focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and
not having much to show for it. (c) mad

and have *no idea* what this website does for a living

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

that i didnt even know existed.

to get "somewhere" is going to start flailing about, esp. in a small setting.

Youth and drive in a small media/entertainment biz place is going to lead to some overstepping. That's why they value women in charge in these types of places.

I wish it wasn't like that but youth and maleness and a top position in the media/entertainment thing sets things off.


Young men feel they have to have an "edge"/"vibe" in this sort of type thing.

cuz you can have drive, edge, and be manly, while NOT treating your employees like trash

most people who become the boss of other people just simply aren't trained on how to do that properly..the PEOPLE part is the hardest part of being a manager or a CEO...learning to create and cultivate an internal culture of equity and inclusion, and make decisions from that space, etc

that's not ever discussed enough.

d

<=========================================
https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/PYzh4v9cSf4FDnq3yMQyqNqh79o=/800x0/filters:no_upscale%28%29/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4079674/jlio.0.gif

employees?

ABC News provides a service.

OKP provides a service.


Should something "Black" be shut down for an exec when ABC news definitely isn't going to be shut down over an exec?


or.....



People want something they left to end because others are continuing after some from the past have left?



https://www.businessinsider.com/abc-news-barbara-fedida-on-leave-conduct-investigation-huffington-post-2020-6

ABC News executive in charge of hiring and diversity programs put on administrative leave while the network investigates claims of insensitive and racist remarks


Megan Hernbroth Jun 13, 2020, 3:50 PM


ABC News placed senior vice president Barbara Fedida on administrative leave after HuffPost's Yashar Ali investigated her extensive history of insensitive and racist remarks.
Fedida, who ran hiring and diversity programs for ABC News, was reported to have enabled a toxic and abusive workplace, according to the report.

Sources said she routinely dismissed or belittled concerns from Black staff about the lack of diversity efforts, and excluded Black staff from initially planning a town hall broadcast with President Barack Obama about race relations in 2016.

According to the report, ABC News and The Walt Disney Company, its parent company, have paid out millions of dollars in settlements against Fedida during her lengthy tenure at the company. She was subject to more than a dozen HR complaints during her time there.
In one instance, Fedida said it wasn't as if the network was asking "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts to "pick cotton" during fraught contract negotiations in which Roberts, who is Black, asked for more money.



The investigation by HuffPost's Yashar Ali unearthed a pattern of insensitive and racist remarks made by Fedida, who oversees hiring and diversity programs for the network in her role as senior vice president. Fedida contributed to and enabled a toxic and abusive workplace, sources told Ali, in addition to routinely dismissing or belittling concerns from Black staff members about the lack of diversity efforts.

According to the report, ABC News and The Walt Disney Company, its parent company, have paid out millions of dollars in settlements against Fedida during her lengthy tenure at the company, where she was subject to more than a dozen HR complaints during her time there.

"To say that she's an abusive figure is an understatement," one former ABC News employee told HuffPost.


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When Ali reached out to ABC News for comment, the network's representative indicated that it would immediately start an investigation into the allegations and place Fedida on administrative leave until it was completed. Fedida was still actively employed at ABC News up until Ali's request.

"There are deeply disturbing allegations in this story that we need to investigate, and we have placed Barbara Fedida on administrative leave while we conduct a thorough and complete investigation," ABC News said in a statement to Huffington Post. "These allegations do not represent the values and culture of ABC News, where we strive to make everyone feel respected in a thriving, diverse and inclusive workplace."














According to the report, ABC News and The Walt Disney Company, its parent company, have paid out millions of dollars in settlements against Fedida during her lengthy tenure at the company.










She was subject to more than a dozen HR complaints during her time there, which ran from 1989 until 2006, and again from 2011 to 2020.








She was first executive director of talent at rival CBS News from 2006 until 2011.









One such instance at ABC News was during a planned town hall event with former President Barack Obama in 2016. The initial planning committee for the event, which focused on race relations, and its moderator were entirely white. Black staff members were concerned with the organization of the town hall and other overlooked diversity issues at ABC News, but Fedida and ABC executives dismissed their written requests as the "Black manifesto," sources told HuffPost.


In another instance, Fedida lashed out at "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts during contentious contract negotiations in 2018. According to HuffPost, Fedida told Roberts, who is Black, that it wasn't as if the network was asking her to "pick cotton" after Roberts had asked for more money as part of her contract.

"Throughout my career, I have been a champion for increased diversity in network news. Building a news division where everyone can thrive has been my life's mission," Fedida told HuffPost through her attorney. "I am proud of my decades of work of hiring, supporting and promoting talented journalists of color. And, unlike these heartbreaking and incredibly misleading claims about me, that track record is well-documented and undeniable."

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to expend for ABC news to be shut down, as you will for OKP to be shut down?

Frankly.........


How much will you "expect" ABC news to be shut down as compared to the energy you'll put in to "hope" for OKP to be shut down?

He’s saying yes shut everything down that disrespects us.

Full stop.

All this talk about how much energy and ABC versus OKP and services and BS like that is offensive, you’re trying to focus on everything but what he actually said, just to be on some “gotcha” and on some “I’m right”.

Lame.

be honest.

you know nobody gonna love you like we love you.


(thats that shit toxic folks be telling their lovers)

Real talk there was definitely a time where I used to live on OKP and if it HAD shut down it woulda been sad lol.

I feel like they’ve been preparing us for this moment for a while since everyone slowly has left lol.

Like a lover who slowly starts moving their stuff out of the apartment lmaooo.

you’re trying to
>focus on everything but what he actually said, just to be on
>some “gotcha” and on some “I’m right”.
>
>Lame.

Seems like an easy solution so it probably won’t happen.

do whatever to "overcome" what some bad exec did.

You all will accept ABC news continuing, so why is OKP a target for shutdowns?

Because, you can envision success against OKP, but not ABC news.

that's it.

the black women who have been mistreated arent even calling for that (they put together a really good list of demands).

hold folks accountable, fire whoever you need to, change leadership, restructure the (corporate) board, make proper restitution to those who were harmed, etc.

but dont throw the baby out with the bath water and punish all of the good things/people associated with it.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

There is an article out there where a Black journalism organization is calling for ABC to make the investigsion transparent - so that organization knows addressing the ABC news situation will take time.

https://www.nabj.org/news/512576/NABJ-Appalled-at-Allegations-of-Racism-at-ABC-News.htm

It’s 2020 and I’m still posting on a message board. Save me from myself.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

and more info under the hashtag #itsneverokay

https://twitter.com/AntoinetteIsama/status/1276503473794711552


www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

they stated that they spoke with the women involved and did nothing of the sort?!?!

they also have blocked unpaid PTO and unemployment benefits to employees that were wrongfully terminated?!?!

all of those women should/are going to sue

and so is the Roots Picnic. They are extremely out of touch and fake progressive.

.

https://www.jambase.com/article/roots-picnic-2019-lineup-tickets
https://www.jambase.com/article/roots-confirm-roots-picnic-2018-lineup

You can see how things got progressively more mainstream over the years:
https://www.jambase.com/article/roots-announce-roots-picnic-2017-lineup
https://www.jambase.com/festival/roots-picnic-nyc-music-festival-2016
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6495125/the-roots-2015-lineup-exclusive


Lineup is steadily moving toward Summer Jam / Power House territory.

https://www.jambase.com/article/roots-picnic-2019-lineup-tickets
https://www.jambase.com/article/roots-confirm-roots-picnic-2018-lineup

You can see how things got progressively more mainstream over the years:
https://www.jambase.com/article/roots-announce-roots-picnic-2017-lineup
https://www.jambase.com/festival/roots-picnic-nyc-music-festival-2016
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6495125/the-roots-2015-lineup-exclusive


Lineup is steadily moving toward Summer Jam / Power House territory.