Michael Giordano, a senior vice president at the Walt Disney Company, was confronted by James O’Keefe after being caught in an undercover video claiming that the corporation discriminates against white men. The confrontation, orchestrated by the O’Keefe Media Group (OMG), was captured in a new clip posted to social media on Monday.
The video shows O’Keefe ambushing Giordano at a Los Angeles restaurant. O’Keefe approaches Giordano’s table, asking him to confirm his identity and employment with Disney. Giordano quickly leaves the restaurant, gets into a white Tesla, and drives away on Sunset Boulevard, with O’Keefe chasing him on foot while cameras roll.
“The Walt Disney Senior Vice President Michael Giordano is confronted by James O’Keefe and @OKeefeMedia after uncovering @Disney‘s discriminatory hiring practices…Caught off guard, Giordano fled to his car with O’Keefe tailing him,” read a post on X by O’Keefe.
The incident drew attention from Hollywood influencers who witnessed the scene and praised OMG for their efforts. In the undercover footage, Giordano revealed that Disney’s human resources department allegedly discriminates against white men in its hiring practices. “I have friends in HR and other divisions who told me that they’re not considering any white males for the job,” Giordano told an undercover journalist with OMG.
Giordano also claimed that being a white male limits his upward mobility within Disney. “As far as Disney is concerned, I am a white male and that’s not who they’re looking to promote at the moment,” he added. He further alleged that a biracial individual was passed over for a promotion because he didn’t appear African American.
“We wanted to hire someone who was half black but didn’t look it, and a creative executive said that’s not what’s wanted,” Giordano explained. He also mentioned that Disney uses euphemistic terminology to avoid legal issues, using “code words and buzzwords” to describe their hiring preferences in a non-actionable way. Despite this, Giordano suggested that Disney’s practices might eventually lead to a lawsuit.
The undercover report comes amid Disney’s adoption of progressive policies on gender and race, which have been incorporated into their movies and television shows.
