A video showing the head of a San Francisco tech firm verbally abusing an Asian family has caught the attention of ‘cancel’ crusaders, but it appears the witch hunt has already resulted in collateral damage.
Michael Lofthouse, the CEO of IT company Solid8, was caught on camera making racist remarks to a family seated next to him at a restaurant.
The video begins with one of the family members, Jordan Chan, daring Lofthouse to “say it again,” suggesting that the altercation had already started.
Also on rt.com From everyday language to the worlds of Shakespeare and Austin, mainstream media looks for racism everywhere“Trump’s gonna f**k you,” Lofthouse shouts in reply, apparently unconcerned that his rant is being recorded. He then urges the group to leave, and calls Chan a " f**king Asian piece of s**t.” The video ends after a waitress demands that the tech CEO leave, calling his behavior unacceptable.
His rude outburst went viral after being posted on Instagram by Chan, and the man was quickly identified and ‘outed’ by various journalists, along with his company, likely cancelling his career and name going forward.
Comedian Patton Oswalt sarcastically discouraged his Twitter followers from sharing the video. “Let’s all be nice to Michael Lofthouse and Solid8,” he joked. His post received more than 73,000 retweets and 130,000 likes.
Other blue-checkmark accounts made similarly facetious remarks, noting how “terrible” it would be if the video went viral and made Lofthouse “uncomfortable.”
Major news outlets also picked up the story. In response, Lofthouse rushed to make an apology, saying that he had “lost control” and made “incredibly hurtful and divisive comments.” He has since deleted all of his social media.
However, the Twitter mob also started targeting companies that work with Lofthouse – an unknown entity before his outburst – and the hounding had drastic consequences for an unsuspecting business on the other side of the Atlantic.
A UK-based firm that goes by the same name (Solid8) quickly became the target of much of the internet’s rage. A user-submitted suggestion to Google Maps listed the firm’s headquarters as a “public bathroom,” while others attempted to doxx the completely innocent, not-owned-by-Lofthouse company.
The owner of the UK firm reportedly issued a public statement urging internet users to be more careful with their vigilante social media justice.
If you like this story, share it with a friend!