Headline Roundup • February 22nd, 2022
Levi's Executive Says She Was 'Pushed Out' Over Opposition to COVID-19 School Closures
Culture,Culture War,Business,Woke Culture,Polarization,Free Speech,Censorship,Bari Weiss,Cancel Culture
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The former chief marketing officer of Levi Strauss & Co. says she was forced to leave the company due to her support for keeping schools open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Writing on the Substack publishing platform of former New York Times editor Bari Weiss, Jennifer Sey alleged that other Levi's executives pushed her to stop speaking out about the need for schools to remain open during the pandemic. Sey also said she walked away from a $1 million exit package offering, which would usually include a nondisclosure agreement. Levi's denies making such an offer. "In the end, no one stood with me," Sey said of her former colleagues. "Not one person publicly said they agreed with me, or even that they didn’t agree with me."
Right-rated sources covered the story more, with many highlighting it as an example of woke censorship and cancel culture costing someone their career. Left- and center-rated sources described Sey as having quit or resigned; right-rated outlets focused more on her claim that she was forced to leave. CBS News described Sey's situation as "the latest example of corporations caught in the crosshairs of opposing views on COVID-related policies." NPR said the story "prompted big questions about corporations and speech." The Daily Wire said Sey's story "revealed what appeared to be a double-standard at the clothing company" because other employees weren't accosted for speaking out about former President Donald Trump, Black Lives Matter and other social justice issues.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images for The Business of Fashion
In the spring of 2020, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Jennifer Sey took a hard-line, controversial position: Schools should stay open.
At the time, Sey was chief marketing officer at Levi Strauss & Co., with 21 years at the company. Later in the year, Sey got promoted to Levi's brand president — on a path to potentially become the next CEO. Instead, she has now resigned.
"Ultimately," Sey told NPR, "just about a month ago, the CEO said to me, 'There's just not a path for you here.' You know, 'It's...
Christian Alminana/Getty Images for Cannes Lions
Jennifer Sey, former brand president for the U.S. clothing company Levi’s, quit her c-suite position and turned down a $1 million payout so she could continue to speak out against certain COVID-19 restrictions.
Sey, a former Olympic gymnast, announced her resignation on Monday in journalist Bari Weiss’ Substack newsletter “Common Sense.” Sey said she was pushed out of her job by the company she had championed over her 23-year career because she refused to stop speaking out against school closures and other COVID-19 policies.
“Early on in the pandemic, I publicly questioned...
CBS News (Online)
Jennifer Sey was a rising star at Levi Strauss. The former gymnast spent decades working her way up at the jeans company, eventually even being considered a possible candidate to become CEO. Then COVID-19 happened. In a blog post, she wrote that she decided to leave the apparel maker after it pressured her to stop speaking about her opposition to school closures because of the pandemic.
Sey also said she turned down $1 million in severance because she feared it would come with a non-disclosure agreement that would prohibit her from talking...
