Joe Simonson on December 27, 2017
BuzzFeed fired its White House Correspondent Adrian Carrasquillo Wednesday after an internal investigation.
Carrasquillo was one of several BuzzFeed employees who appeared on the infamous “Sh**** Media Men” Google spreadsheet that documented alleged sexual misconduct by men in media circles. BuzzFeed began investigating the allegations about its staff members in November. The conduct documented on the list ranges from arguably inappropriate comments to full-blown sexual assault.
The company is “saddened by these circumstances, but we take these issues extremely seriously,” a BuzzFeed spokesman told Business Insider. The company is “committed to ensuring that BuzzFeed remains a place where everyone is treated respectfully by his or her peers,” the spokesman added.
Carrasquillo’s termination allegedly came after inappropriate comments he allegedly made towards a coworker.
“In responding to a complaint filed last week by an employee, we learned that Adrian violated our Code of Conduct by sending an inappropriate message to a colleague,” a spokesman told Business Insider. “This followed a reminder about our prohibition against inappropriate communications.”
On top of covering the White House, Carrasquillo focussed heavily on immigration issues, citing his own Hispanic heritage as motivation. Before covering the White House, he served as BuzzFeed’s editor for the website’s Latino coverage.
Carrasquillo had a self-described “unique beat” during the 2016 campaign, where he covered “Hispanic issues” from the various candidates, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Carrasquillo’s firing is the latest crackdown in media companies over inappropriate conduct by staff members.