CTV pulls Jessica Mulroney’s show after she’s called out for using white privilege against Black influencer

Toronto fitness and fashion influencer Sasha Exeter took to Instagram on June 11 to detail what she called her “Amy Cooper experience,” referencing an exchange with prominent fashion and lifestyle fixture Jessica Mulroney over the course of the last week.In the nearly 12-minute video, Exeter, who runs the lifestyle blog SoSasha, calls out Mulroney, who is married to etalk co-anchor and Your Morning host Ben Mulroney, for using, in Exeter’s words, her "textbook white privilege" to silence Exeter's voice and threaten her livelihood.

 

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I’ve been silent. Not anymore!⁣ ⁣ I’m used to being so transparent on this platform. I think it’s the main reason why most of you follow me. Today, I’m opening up about something that has been haunting me for the last week. I have felt like a complete fraud fighting for racial equality and using my voice openly here, while letting a white woman silence mine behind closed doors. In sharing this very personal story, I know that I am risking a lot. Opening myself up to criticism, bullying and potential ramifications with my job in this space. However, I must speak my truth. Enough is enough. Hopefully my voice will be heard by many and help change things for the next generation and for my daughter Maxwell... because I will be dammed if my child ever has to deal with this level of ignorance.

A post shared by SoSasha (@sashaexeter) on Jun 10, 2020 at 4:37pm PDT

As a result, CTV announced Thursday evening that it has decided to pull Mulroney’s wedding show I Do, Redo from all Bell Media channels and platforms as a show of its commitment to “amplify Black voices and not to minimize them.” Other companies, including Hudson’s Bay and Kleinfeld Canada and Good Morning America, have also followed suit and severed ties with Mulroney in response.

 

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A statement from CTV regarding @jessicamulroney

A post shared by CTV Communications (@ctv_pr) on Jun 11, 2020 at 2:35pm PDT

“She is very well aware of her wealth, her perceived power and privilege because of the colour of her skin,” Exeter says in the video. “And that, my friends, gave her the momentary confidence to come for my livelihood in writing.”[video_embed id='1976453']RELATED: CTV pulls Jessica Mulroney’s ‘I Do, Redo’ series from all Bell Media platforms[/video_embed]In the midst of a private dispute over using social media to amplify Black voices, Exeter says Mulroney told her she was speaking to companies about how Exeter had treated her unfairly. Concerned about how that could potentially affect future partnerships, the influencer felt it necessary to use her voice to speak about the experience of having “a white woman trying to silence [her] behind closed doors.”Mulroney apologized to Exeter in the comments section of the video soon after it was posted, acknowledging that the experience was “deeply educational” and promising to “continue to learn and listen on how I can use my privilege to elevate and support Black voices.”She also responded on her Instagram Story to CTV’s decision to pull I Do, Redo, saying that she respected the choice and has “decided to step away from my professional engagements at this time” and remains “more committed than ever to support anti-racism efforts and will do everything in my power to right this wrong.”[caption id="attachment_4939306" align="alignleft" width="686"] Instagram/Jessica Mulroney[/caption]As previously announced, CTV will be airing Change and Action: Racism in Canada on June 13 at 8 p.m. ET, a 90-minute special dedicated to having difficult and necessary conversations about racism and privilege. Now more than ever, we need to learn and listen to the voices who've been discriminated against so that we can all effect change together. etalk hosts Lainey Lui and Tyrone Edwards will be joined by The Social’s Marci Ien and Your Morning and CTV host Anne-Marie Mediwake and talking to activists, artists and educators, including Black Lives Matter Toronto founder Sandy Hudson, musician Jessie Reyez and the head of the Toronto International Film Festival, Cameron Bailey, to understand the effects of racism and to move towards effective solutions.