June Pridemore (Facebook)
A bank executive has lost her job because of racist comments she made concerning President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. One comment even likened them to enslaved Africans.
June Pridmore, a former employee of Regions Bank, was declared “Racist of the week” on Facebook after her comment spread on the social media site. Kimberlee White posted the image Nov. 21 and it has been shared more than 6,000 times.
Pridemore wrote about her support for President-elect Donald Trump before degrading President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
“I’m certainly glad [Trump] has a lot of money because she he [sic] won’t be bought out like Barack [sic], socialist Muslim O’Bama [sic] or his wife or all those host of relatives they have in the whitehouse [sic] for US to support.”
Then, Pridemore stated the Obamas use taxpayer funds to vacation with their relatives, including an accusation about flying their dog, Bo, on a separate plane. That claim was proven false by Snopes.
“They have sponged the US of money flying to every single location in which they could vacation, taking the Grandmother with them. … Oh yes, and let us NOT forget they flew the family dog on a SEPARATE plane. If any idiot out there thinks that is justified, you deserved him as president.”
Still, one of the most harrowing statements compared Barack and Michelle to enslaved Africans.
“I prefer a man who can buy Michele [sic] and Barack and sell them several times over,” she wrote.
After Pridemore’s post went viral, Region’s moved to terminate the worker, whose now-deleted LinkedIn page listed her as an eight-year-long senior vice president of loan operations. After an initial probe Nov. 23, the bank announced the move on Facebook that same day.
We appreciate the concerns shared about offensive social media comments that were made through an associate’s personal…
Posted by Regions Bank on Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Pridemore’s remarks are the latest in a string of white employees losing their jobs because of racist posts on social media, Atlanta Black Star reported. In March, Pittsburg anchorwoman Wendy Bell lost her job for making disparaging statements about Black people. Three months later, in June, Bank of America worker Christine Mcmullen Lindgren’s n-word-laden Facebook tirade ended her employment. The next month, Homepoint Financial terminated Lisa Greenwood after she called Michelle Obama an “ugly Black b—-.” Earlier this month, Pamela Ramsey Taylor, a West Virginia county official, was fired after describing Michelle Obama as an “ape in heels.”
