Netflix PR chief given marching orders after using racial slur in a meeting

Netflix has fired its head of PR after he used a racial slur in a meeting, according to recent reports.

Jonathan Friedland, who has worked for the streaming giant for seven years, confirmed last night that he would be parting ways with the company in a statement on Twitter.

"Im leaving Netflix after seven years," he wrote. "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.

"I feel awful about the distress this lapse caused to people at a company I love and where I want everyone to feel included and appreciated. I feel honoured to have built a brilliant and diverse global team and to have been part of our collective adventure."

Read more: Netflix's share price is at record high, rising over 103 per cent in 2018

In a memo sent to staff and seen by The Hollywood Reporter, who first broke the story yesterday evening, Netflix chief exec Reed Hastings said:

Ive made a decision to let go of Jonathan Friedland. Jonathan contributed greatly in many areas, but his 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.

The first incident was several months ago in a PR meeting about sensitive words. Several people afterwards told him how inappropriate and hurtful his use of the N-word was, and Jonathan apologised to those that had been in the meeting. We hoped this was an awful anomaly never to be repeated.

Hastings added that the company would be finding ways to educate and help employees understand: "the many difficult ways that race, nationality, gender identity and privilege play out in society and our organisation."

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CityAM

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