I (politely) disagree.
He's not tone-deaf. He just doesn't care.
Heck, he may not even know about it...the toadies who report to him likely don't care either.
“Doesn’t care” is a good working definition of “tone deaf.” He’s pissed because this is a bunch of old white guys. I bet one of them used the “N” word once.
He is not tone-deaf. He is a spiteful, petty jerk who is doing this because he hates people who don’t bow down to him. This is all about him “blackmailing” and “holding hostage” those who don’t do his will. He is a schoolyard bully and is doing this to show “he’s the boss.”
Since he is nothing but a spoiled brat, he needs to hear all of us say this in words he can understand, “Hey, Bozo, you’re not the boss of me!”