Leon Bennett/WireImage By Essence ·December 31, 2020December 31, 2020
Fierce and successful Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Bozoma Saint John has a reputation for demanding her worth, leaving an undeniable legacy on each brand she touches and inspiring Black women to carve out their own space and power within corporate America. She’s held for tops posts at iconic brands in the last four years, including Uber, Endeavor and Apple Music, making her resume one of the most accomplished in the marketing industry and her skills the most sought-after.
All of these impressive fetes under Saint John’s belt made it all the more offensive for both her and her supporters to read a recent article published by AdAge titled “The CMO Most Likely To Jump Jobs In 2021”, which many felt was a hit piece masked as a profile.
Outrage on Twitter was swift, with many sharing that they found it to be both an unnecessary and tasteless piece that diminished Saint John’s professional accomplishments and ignored the many obstacles that Black women face in the workplace, like racism and pay equity, while painting her instead as someone who is career hungry and privileged.
Bozoma Saint John has worked for four brands in four years. https://t.co/xlNKRIZbUM
— Ad Age (@adage) December 29, 2020
Text book example of Unconscious (?) Bias. 
— Michele Bradley (@MichelenBradley) December 30, 2020
Rarely one to pile on but this “article” deserves every bit of disdain it’s received. Big fan of @adage and the community but this defies logic, standards & professionalism.
— Adrian Parker (@adriandparker) December 31, 2020
This article is heavy bs and @adage is trash trash for letting it run. Your writer leaves a lot unsaid and implies boz is flighty without pointing at her accomplishments (or failures) Y'all really just recoil at anything that defers from what's deemed normal. https://t.co/Qv7xwEPEdP
— King Kunta (@dotunbello1) December 30, 2020
The article I'd like to read is: Why top brands fail to keep top BIPOC talent like Bozoma Saint John.
— Rebecca Rivera (@rebrivved) December 30, 2020
This article is still so…so… lacking anything. Ya’ll tried it, @badassboz deserves so much more than this medriocre write up. Def time for sensitivity training, audits and show us some of these diversity numbers. pic.twitter.com/p9ahDXvz8c
— deb (@thatdarndeb) December 31, 2020
The conversation also sparked rooms and discussions on the now wildly popular new Clubhouse app.
@3rdGeers has talked me into being part of a room on Clubhouse about the Adage story about Bozoma Saint John. Come join us in a few minutes.
— Derek Walker (@dereklwalker) December 31, 2020
AdAge apologized to Saint John on Twitter and updated the article to better reflect her accomplishments, but for many that was too little too late, urging the outlet to rethink the editorial decision that lead to a piece like this running about a Black woman, when it likely never would have run about a White man who made similar business moves at the C-suite level.
We appreciate your feedback and apologize for the tone of our original story, which missed the mark. The intention was meant to show Bozoma Saint John as one of the most in-demand CMOs. We have updated it to better reflect her standing in the industry: https://t.co/5uvBJB8tk9
— Ad Age (@adage) December 30, 2020
A colleague sent this to me a few days ago & I found the whole thing in poor taste and lacking a real point of view. It was a weak piece beyond being demeaning in tone and I hope you’re able to critically re-evaluate some of these editiorial decisions moving forward. Be blessed.
— Joymarie Parker (@heymissparkerr) December 30, 2020
Saint John, who is also part of the ESSENCE Full Circle Festival leadership team, thanked her community today for their support and swift response when it came to defending her work and reputation.
Y’all already know. Thank you for the love. You got a BADASS crying real tears. 
— Bozoma Saint John (@badassboz) December 30, 2020 View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Bozoma Saint John (@badassboz)
TOPICS: Bozoma Saint John
The post The Internet Is Outraged By A Piece AdAge Wrote About Bozoma Saint John appeared first on Essence.
