High-profile exits spark fears that Hollywood diversity pledges are just ‘PR’
LOS ANGELES — Her message was cheerful and comforting: “PEOPLE!!! I got you!”
Last fall, veteran Hollywood diversity executive Karen Horne sought to reassure aspiring artists who were shaken by the elimination of the Warner Bros. Television Workshop, which for decades stood as a beacon for the development of emerging talent of color.
Facing a torrent of outrage, Warner Bros. Discovery vowed to revive the program.
But Horne’s celebration was short-lived. Last month she was laid off, becoming the fourth high-level diversity, equity and inclusion executive in Hollywood to leave during a 10-day stretch in late June.
Diversity chiefs at Walt Disney Co., Netflix and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, all Black women, also resigned or were forced out of their jobs. The startling string of exits comes in the midst of attacks by conservative politicians and pundits on “wokeness” in entertainment, education and other areas of American life.
For many, the Hollywood departures were unnerving.
“I wake up every day trying not to be a cynic, but this is frightening,” said Vic
