Sean 'Diddy' Combs is standing by the chief executive of his TV network Revolt following allegations of racism.
An unnamed ex-employee recently wrote a letter to Revolt's board accusing Roma Khanna of racist behaviour in the workplace. In the letter, obtained by New York Post's Page Six, the employee, who describes herself as a "young, educated black woman", said she had witnessed Khanna say black women "intimidate her" and that during a recent restructuring, 30 per cent of the Revolt staff were let go, and 99 per cent of those were African-American.
The woman also claimed that when somebody suggested getting rapper Meek Mill, who was released from prison in April (18) after serving five months for probation violations, should host a talk about prison reform, "Roma responded, 'Maybe the conversation isn't about prison reform, maybe it's about how to stay out of jail, black boy.'?"
Addressing the allegations in a statement, founder Diddy told both Page Six and TMZ that they had conducted a review after receiving the letter, and Khanna would stay in her position.
"This story is inaccurate. We are a black-owned and operated network and we have a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind," the statement reads. "Revolt is led by a woman of color who is expected to uphold the same standards that I hold for all of my companies. After an extensive review led by outside counsel there were no findings of deliberate misconduct. At this time, Roma Khanna will remain as CEO of REVOLT.
"Regarding the recent restructure, Revolt's diversity remains unchanged. We are 67 per cent ethnically diverse, with more than 60 per cent of the senior leadership being women. Any suggestion that any company of mine negatively targets African Americans is absurd and offensive."
Diddy launched Revolt in 2013. Khanna, a former MGM Studios TV Group & Digital president, was appointed chief executive in September (17).