California Legislative Black Caucus Calls Exodus of Black DEI Execs in Hollywood ‘a Troubling Pattern’
thewrap.comWatch video of the press conference here.They were referring to a wave of sudden exits of executives that kicked off June 20 when Disney’s chief diversity officer and senior vice president Latondra Newton, left, according to Disney to pursue “other endeavors.” Then on June 28 Netflix announced that Vernā Myers, head of inclusion strategy, will leave the role in September after five years in the job in order to focus attention on her consulting company, The Vernā Myers Company.The next day, Warner Bros.
Discovery laid off SVP of diversity, equity and inclusion Karen Horne, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s EVP of Impact and Inclusion Jeanell English stepped down.
Horne joined WBD in March 2020, while English’s role was created by Academy CEO Bill Kramer in July 2022.“One executive removal could be a fluke, but four more?
And we’re hearing more are to come. This is a troubling pattern. A pattern that suggests diversity, equity and inclusion is no longer a priority at the highest levels of the film industry, where decisions are made and institutional change happens,” Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles) said.Smallwood-Cuevas also said it was troubling that many of the exits happened after the California legislature extended he film and TV tax credit.“It is a slap in the face of not only women.
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