Washington state's first equity director is fired after allegedly fat-shaming colleagues and making racist comments like 'I generally distrust Mexican people'

Daily Mail ^ | 6/08/23 | Melissa Koenig

[Libloather]

Washington State's first equity director has been fired after an investigation found she made racist comments towards Hispanic colleagues and even fat-shamed one employee.

Karen Johnson, the first director of the state's Office of Equity, was terminated from her position on May 17 after an independent investigation revealed several of her employees had complained about her 'biased and insensitive conduct.'

One Mexican employee told investigators how Johnson once said she had a 'distrust of Mexican people,' while another said the director attacked her for her weight.

Johnson has denied these allegations, and is said to be considering bringing a wrongful termination suit against the State.

But when asked about his decision to fire Johnson, Gov. Jay Inslee told KING 5 News the office 'required leadership to be able to manage the agency appropriately' and 'we needed some more leadership there.'

She has been succeeded in her position by Megan Matthews, who is serving as the acting director.

As MFR Law Group PLLC investigated Johnson's helm at the newly-formed Office of Equity, it uncovered reports from staffers who claimed Johnson was racist against Hispanics.

In one instance, she allegedly told a Mexican employee: 'This may take some time for me because I generally distrust Mexican people.'

She then allegedly said, 'Mexican people have the option of being white when it's convenient for them,' according to documents obtained by KING 5 News.

Another employee also said Johnson had an 'us versus them' mentality when it came to her Hispanic co-workers, often calling them out for not having 'lived experiences' of racism.

Her management style was also brought up in interviews with the investigators, which found that she micromanaged staff, was disorganized and lacked adequate structure and processes and made unreasonable requests.

[Libloather]

How is that even possible?

[mikey_hates_everything]

’Mexican people have the option of being white when it's convenient for them,'

Isn’t that what you’re trying to do with that wig, Karen?

[BobL]

“Mexican people have the option of being white when it’s convenient for them”

Like it or not, she does have a point as Mexican culture does permit one to get an education and to vote conservative (as happened in Texas in 2020 when Trump did fine but even though the polling predicted a very close race - Trump won a huge percentage of the Mexican vote, nearly half).

Now, there’s another culture, where doing the above is virtually outlawed...

[equaviator]

"she made racist comments towards Hispanic colleagues and even fat-shamed one employee."

"Fat-shaming" can happen when people get confused over whether or not voiced concerns for an obese person's health are sincere. All it takes is for one snowflake and one or more hotheads to blow everything out of proportion. /s

[healy61]

And her name is Karen. Perfect. Life imitates memes.

[jocon307]

“I generally distrust Mexican people.”

Racism straight up.

Cannot believe someone in this woman’s position would say that, even if she felt that way.

Maybe “inclusion” is just not your thing, honey.

GET OUT.

[rarestia]

Ugh. This isn’t racism. It’s hypocritical given her post, but it’s not racist. Racism is the belief that one’s own race is superior to another. Distrusting someone or a whole class of people isn’t racist. It’s maybe generalist or elitest, but it’s not racist.

We need to take back the language folks. Words have meaning. This person is a sad hypocrite, to be certain, and she might very well be racist, but not based on that comment.

[Lockbox]

Ok, she doesn’t like fat people and Mexicans but what about the other 998 different types of self claimed types of people? Maybe she likes just over 50% which would be the majority! Did they ever think to ask her?

[Jimmy Valentine]

Yet another racist black female loose cannon. Why are they wasting money on an office of equity anyway? Ridiculous.

[joma89]

Another dark skinned, hateful racist.

[Mark17]

And her name is Karen. Perfect. Life imitates memes.

😊🤗😆😀 Yep, very appropriately named.

[Blueflag]

And replaced by Meghan.

Appropriate

[Ex-Con777]

What race is “Mexican”?

EC

[popdonnelly]

Phony person conning the system.

[Tudorfly]

Liberalism is a mental disorder.

[COBOL2Java]

Her management style was also brought up in interviews with the investigators, which found that she micromanaged staff, was disorganized and lacked adequate structure and processes and made unreasonable requests.

Sounds like a VP we know

[Mark17]

And replaced by Meghan.

Well, at least she didn’t get replaced by a lizard. 😊👍

[Tax-chick]

I agree. Also, “Mexican” is not a race. It’s a nationality. Like the United States, Mexico includes a variety of races, cultures, and linguistic groups.

[Ezekiel]

Another employee also said Johnson had an 'us versus them' mentality when it came to her Hispanic co-workers, often calling them out for not having 'lived experiences' of racism.

Her management style was also brought up in interviews with the investigators, which found that she micromanaged staff, was disorganized and lacked adequate structure and processes and made unreasonable requests.

What's the problem? Looks like a 5-star bureaucrat who could check all the HR boxes, especially for the important position of " equity director".

[xp38]

hypocrisy defined