Update: Three more Black female DEI chiefs in Hollywood have been let go in the past 2 weeks.
Disney Diversity and Inclusion chief Latondra Newton (right) was the first to be fired from her position after several high-profile box office flops, including The Little Mermaid.
Verna Myers, Netflix’s head of inclusion strategy, was allowed to “step down” graciously to focus on her own consulting firm, The Verna Myers Company. Myers will continue to draw a paycheck as a consultant to Netflix.
Warner Bros. Discovery fired Karen Horne as Senior V.P. of North America Diversity Equity and Inclusion, according to Variety. She joined the company in March 2020.
Jeanell English was let go as director of Diversity and Inclusion for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (Oscar Awards). She was promoted to the position last July.
According to reports, Hollywood is experiencing “diversity fatigue.” As a result, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is being “put on the back-burner.”
Major corporations hired DEI executives to address the needs of minorities during 2020’s Black Lives Matter movement.
Actress/writer Yvette Nicole Brown tweeted, “I guess all those black boxes after George Floyd was murdered were for nothing,” in reference to black boxes replacing social media profile photos in support of Floyd and BLM.
Disney’s diversity chief Latondra Newton was the first to be let go after multiple high-profile box office flops.
Disney allowed Newton to graciously resign to “pursue other endeavors,” Disney chief human resources officer Sonia Coleman announced on June 22.
Coleman wrote that Newton “decided to leave The Walt Disney Company to join a corporate board and focus on a creative company she owns.”
The Little Mermaid needed to recoup $560 million in ticket sales for Disney to break even, according to Deadline.com.
Another flop, Disney Pixar movie “Elemental” featured a non-binary character using “they/them” pronouns.
Julie Merges, SVP of Talent Acquisition, will run Disney’s DEI department on an interim basis while the search for Newton’s replacement continues.
