"Once again the actions of an old white man have fucked it all up," writes Ricky in a fiery resignation letter.
Ricky Basnett made an anti-semitic statement on Instagram that calls for the destruction of Israel and the Jews.
I thought he might just be ignorant and asked his employer to get him to take it down. There is enough hate in the world.
I am a Jew and found it incredibly offensive and anti-semitic. Surfers I know have already been murdered in this conflict.
I could have just let it slide since it had only one comment but for me there is a question of morality, 1,200 murders, rapes and dismemberment. Two hundred and forty hostages.
Yes, I agree Palestinians have suffered too and that war is dreadful.
I do not want a team member who supports the extinction of Jews and the Jewish state but I never fired Ricky Basnett or asked him to be fired. He cut ties on his own.
Read his resignation letter.
After his employer asked him to take down the post at my request, this is what I and his employer received.
Morning S.. (employer with me cc’d)
Before I say anything else, I want you to know that I have the utmost respect for you and am super grateful for the opportunity you gave me with Instinct.
The events that transpired over the weekend however have left a disgusting taste in my mouth, and it’s honestly a gigantic red flag for me.
I will NEVER be censored for my beliefs, and unfortunately cannot be aligned with a company whose founder openly supports genocide and oppression.
As you already know, Shaun’s statements over the last month have been hurting the brand locally, and it baffles my mind that as a human who grew up in apartheid South Africa, he can’t see what he is doing. Our own South African government is Pro Palestine.
Instinct IS Shaun and his public opinions reflect on the brand. He may have left SA, but the legacy of apartheid hasn’t, and while I’m trying to help build HIS company into an inclusive, diverse South African brand, he clearly sees his personal views as more important than all of that work.
On top of that, I have zero respect for anyone who can’t voice their issues directly to me. Going behind my back to you is cowardly. The only thing I’ve been sent directly from him is some random propaganda clip full of proven inaccuracies, and I’ll be honest I am fucking livid with the situation. He’s also been deleting opposing comments on his posts, and this, along with the immediate attempted censoring of my views, has shown me his true colours.
I need to protect my own brand here, and with no paycheck coming in from Instinct, you can understand my need to step away.
At the end of the day I’m just really sad it’s gone this way. Once again the actions of an old white man have fucked it all up. I am also unfortunately going to have to make a public statement regarding my decision. In no way do I want to hurt the brand locally, but again, I need to protect myself and explain why this relationship has ended so suddenly.
I really do wish you all the best, and I am truly sorry for this mail.
Ricky
After his letter, I sent along this letter….
Shaun Tomson
To:Ricky Badness,S..
Mon, Nov 13 at 5:16 PM (note time stamps)
Ricky
You can support Hamas and the kidnapping murder rape and dismemberment of babies all you want. You are parroting the same old anti semitic tropes I have heard all my life. The same old Jew hatred that has been around before you and will be around after.
Support Hamas and be proud of your choice. Initially I
thought you were simply ignorant but now I know that is not the
case. I will not be aligned and support an anti semite, someone who
calls for the destruction of Israel.
Certain things in life like values and human decency are more
important than business.
Genocide – do you even know what they word means. 6 million Jews died in the 1940s. That was genocide.
Your anti-semitism is disgusting to me.
Shaun Tomson
So please get it straight.
(Watch Jason Hearn’s very good film about Ricky Basnett here. Many tears etc.)