Hi everyone,
Today, as part of the broader representation and inclusion goals of our company, we are reviewing our content library and removing some videos we no longer feel comfortable hosting on our platforms. We took an honest look at 17+ years of videos, many of them made live and uploaded on a daily basis, and concluded some do not fit the values of Rooster Teeth today and are counterproductive to the work we are striving to do to be more inclusive of all people. We aspire to entertain our existing community while fostering connections with a diverse audience. Any content that doesn’t do that doesn’t belong on our platform. This review is ongoing; over time we will also edit videos, provide disclaimers where appropriate, and continue to remove content if we so choose.
In June we stated #BlackLivesMatter and said we were working on a plan to ensure a more diverse, inclusive and equitable Rooster Teeth. We want to be transparent about what we’ve accomplished and what we’re still working on. Laney Ingram, our Head of Legal & Business Affairs, has expanded her responsibilities to include Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI). She is partnering with Senior HR leader Stephanie O’Connor, who comes to us from Fullscreen. We have also hired an outside DEI consultant, Ingrid Hadley. Together, Laney, Stephanie and Ingrid are laying the groundwork for our DEI strategy and initiatives going forward. We are also working closely with WarnerMedia on all of our DEI strategies and are thankful for their support and the opportunities they open up in this area.
This is an ongoing process and this is by no means our last update on the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion. Actions speak louder than words and we hope you see our actions clearly now and in the future. Don’t hesitate to hold us accountable and offer your feedback.
Rooster Teeth is making the SAME mistakes that lead to the destruction of (among MANY others) 97 episodes of Doctor Who. The only difference is that Rooster Teeth is doing it because of BLM, rather than to save storage/disk space.
Other context: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTUhGlH8OS4