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Radio company iHeart Radio has fired their Atlanta president Drew Lauter after a video surfaced of him appearing to use a racial slur. A spokesperson for the iHeart media company has confirmed that Drew is no longer an employee.
The same spokesperson told a Channel 2 representative that the action to fire the president of the Atlanta operation was motivated by a non-tolerance policy that was followed company-wide. They said:
“Allegations of this nature go against our company values and our policies and we take them very seriously.”
Drew Lauter video controversy explored
The video was filmed in August 2021, wherein Drew Lauter and other staff members of the company, some of whom are black, are seen in the back seat of a car, returning from a charity event. He was shown making profane comments in derogatory language, telling the driver to run over certain people of color.
The video also shows Lauter groping the hired driver several times and using the n-word unrestricted. He appears to be under the influence.
This is not the first time Lauter has used racial slurs in front of other employees.
The video of Drew Lauter was made public after iHeart Radio did not take any action against the accused.
Jason Castle, the attorney representing the employee who took the video (name withheld), has come forward to make a statement. He said that the cell phone recording is strong evidence against Drew and that this is not the first time he has used such insensitive language in the workplace. He said:
“This wasn’t a gotcha moment, he said it in the presence of four executive employees, one of whom happened to be Black.”
Castle is adamant about representing his client, who is also a black man, because he believes that hard-working people should not have to endure this sort of discrimination in their work environment.
Drew Lauter joined the iHeart media company in September 2019 to run the Madison, Wisconsin, cluster. He was new to the radio industry after working for many years in the start-up world. Lauter moved to Atlanta in 2020. He previously worked as President of Qello Music and COO of LinQ.
Racial crimes rampant in Southern cities like Atlanta
Southern cities like Atlanta and Dallas have seen a surge in racial crimes, especially crimes against African-Americans and Asian-Americans. Last year, a 22-year-old white male went on a shooting rampage in the spa area of Atlanta, killing eight females. Though experts say the crime was racially motivated, the suspect claimed it to be motivated by an addiction to p*rn.
In June earlier this year, a Subway employee, 26, was shot dead after a spat occurred over a sandwich wherein the man complained about "too much mayo." A similar incident occurred at the Jack in the Box franchise.
Although Drew Lauter was fired, he is currently not facing any criminal charges, although investigations on the issue are ongoing.
