The boss did not fire an intern who had a viral crisis, he defended him

But instead, his boss, Deena Saunders-Green, defended him.

Saunders-Green employs Ford at Green Pines Media, a company that helps underprivileged artists monetize their work.

California’s at-will employment laws mean she could fire Ford for any reason, including going viral in an embarrassing video.

But, he told Business Insider, he didn’t want to judge his employee based on a video that was posted online. Instead, he said, he acted based on his character, which he knew well.

“We’re just trying to do business in a drastically different way, in a way that I would wish our society, our culture and other employers would behave,” Saunders-Green told BI. “We’re all human.”

Social media watchers

Saunders-Green said her husband told her about the video. It was shared by a creator named Danesh, who has amassed 1.9 million followers for calling out people who behave badly in public, colloquially known as “Karens.”

The video was originally posted by a woman named Manuela on TikTok, who appears to be one of two people in the car.

In it, Ford is seen slamming his body against the car and two women can be seen calling him “crazy.”

One tells him that “wherever you work is really going to love this,” apparently expecting to be punished.

Manuela did not respond to BI’s request for comment via TikTok.

Danesh reposted the video on his popular Instagram account, tagging Ford’s Instagram handle and sharing some of his personal and work information.

Saunders-Green said Ford is generally “well-mannered” and “just the nicest guy,” so she contacted him to ask what happened.

He immediately apologized, Saunders-Green said, and felt embarrassed for losing his cool.

(Saunders-Green sent an interview request to Ford himself, but he did not respond.)

“He told me he was waiting for a parking spot and someone just jumped out and took him,” Saunders-Green said of Ford. “He basically got out of the car to confront them.”

Saunders-Green said they had a discussion about Ford’s behavior and how he might handle similar situations in the future.

“We handled it internally and it was fine,” he said, adding that his company puts “people before profits.”

“Because we put people first, it wasn’t a big deal to say, ‘Okay, we’ll support you.'”

Threats of violence

Ford was relieved, he said, and told her about some of the backlash he had been subjected to, including insults and death threats.

“Yes, it was bad behavior,” Saunders-Green said of Ford, but said she viewed the video as “two privileged morons behaving badly over something so insignificant.”

Threats of violence were a step too far, he said.

Saunders-Green said she was also receiving emails telling her to fire Ford and that people were threatening to shut down her business if she didn’t.

“It bothered me because, first of all, I’m 50 years old, I’m menopausal and I’m a black woman,” Saunders-Green said. “How dare you come up to me and try to intimidate me?”

So he decided to make his own video on August 19th.

In it, he showed some of the messages Ford had been receiving and said he was standing by him.

It racked up more than 3 million views, more than any other original video about the crisis.

An easy target

The overall reaction was mixed. Many accused Ford of being aggressive toward the woman filming him, but others thought he had a right to be upset if she had stolen his spot.

When Saunders-Green posted her video, she received a ton of support and people praised her response.

“This is the most realistic, humanistic and genuine response I have seen on this app,” read one comment.

Another said: “It’s very rare these days to see someone forgiving another person for having a bad day or moment. “

Saunders-Green said Ford had been made a “scapegoat” and that “people needed something to be angry about.”

“He seemed like a super white guy, and how dare you use your white privilege or entitlement to intimidate a woman?” Saunders-Green said.

“I understand,” she added. “I totally understand. I’m a women’s rights advocate, but let’s not turn this into something it wasn’t.”

‘We are all human’

Ford also responded publicly, posting a video on his Instagram.

He apologized to the woman in the car for reacting “badly” and said he wanted to take responsibility.

But he also claimed Danesh “spun” the situation to make him look worse, accusing him of profiting from online storms like the one he found himself in.

In a message to BI, Danesh said he continued to share the video and thought Ford’s response was “incredibly smug, condescending and manipulative.”

“I never demanded that he be fired, nor did I order anyone to fire him or threaten him, as he claims,” ​​she said. “I have always said that I am against harassment and threats.”

He said that both he and Manuela have also been “receiving threats and harassment.”

“I didn’t see them encouraging that in their videos, but by their own logic, should I blame them anyway?” he said.

Danesh said he thought Ford was still refusing to take responsibility and wanted to “blame the messenger.”

“I don’t see people running around saying ‘they were just having a bad day’ when a camera catches dark-skinned or black people assaulting someone,” Danesh said. “But for some reason we should make an exception for Nigel?”

Danesh said she has not seen the Saunders-Green video and has “no interest” in it, though she said she has every right to her opinion.

“I always hope that everyone in all my videos will change their behavior, but I can’t force them,” she said.

Meanwhile, Saunders-Green said she is determined to take advantage of the new attention and has been sharing information about how her company is raising funds for a new office building.

“We’re using this as an opportunity to do something good,” he said.