The CEO’s response shows how Amazon, and many in corporate America, have decided to take a vocal position on Black Lives Matter.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, and CEO called out a customer on Sunday night over a racist and vulgar email he received.
“This sort of hate shouldn’t be allowed to hide in the shadows. It’s important to make it visible,” Bezos wrote on Instagram alongside a customer email that complained about the CEO’s public support of Black Lives Matter. Amazon added a BLM banner on its website in honor of George Floyd, a black man killed on Memorial Day while in police custody.
The customer, identified only as Dave in the Instagram post, said while making racist remarks that he canceled an order over Bezos’ stance and said he was ending his business relationship with Amazon. The customer suggested more shoppers will do the same if Amazon maintains its pro-BLM position.
In response, Bezos, the world’s richest person, said: “Dave, you’re the kind of customer I’m happy to lose.”
Bezos on Friday posted a different customer email on Instagram, in which a person named Macy called out the company for the BLM banner, saying “ALL LIVES MATTER!” Bezos posted his email response, saying BLM points to the disproportionate risks black Americans face with police.
On Sunday, Bezos said there had been “a number of sickening but not surprising responses in my inbox” since that Friday post, including the message from Dave.
Bezos has repeatedly been criticized over his responses to all sorts of issues, most notably by his own employees who’ve said he’s not doing enough to fight climate change. He’s also been roundly panned by critics who say he’s not donating enough to charity despite his enormous wealth. In both cases, Bezos has made notable changes to counteract those sentiments.
These emails show he is taking a more vocal position on the BLM movement as protests for Floyd have emerged across the country and many corporate leaders are speaking out against institutionalized racism.
Amazon’s CEO famously made his email address public years ago, but he rarely posts about individual messages from customers.
Last week, Amazon pledged $10 million to organizations to help black communities and social justice.
