Jessica Mulroney, the Canadian stylist, Good Morning America correspondent, and close friend of Meghan Markle, has been fired from her Canadian TV gig after black influencer Sasha Exeter dubbed her an “Amy Cooper.”
Equating Mulroney to the white woman who called the cops on a birdwatcher in Central Park last month, Exeter took to Instagram to tell a story of alleged online bullying at the hands of Mulroney.
“Today, I’m opening up about something that has been haunting me for the last week,” Exeter wrote to her 74,000 followers. “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.”
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Her widely watched video led CTV to announce that Mulroney’s show, I Do Redo, had been axed, as it conflicted with their “commitment to diversity and equality.”
The full statement read: “Bell Media and CTV encourages our entire team including on-air talent to practice respect, inclusivity and allyship as we pledge to work better and more openly to listen to and amplify black voices, and not minimize them,” the statement began.
“Because recent conduct by one of our shows hosts, Jessica Mulroney, conflicts with our commitment to diversity and equality, CTV has removed I Do Redo from all Bell Media channels and platforms effective immediately.”
ABC did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment about whether Mulroney had kept her job on Good Morning America.
Exeter kept her story about Mulroney vague, but said in a video that the TV host contacted her after she posted a “generic call to action” Instagram story about supporting Black Lives Matter.
During the first week of the protests against the public killing of George Floyd, Exeter said that Mulroney “made no mention” of race or standing by the movement on her Instagram channel, where she frequently posts about feminism and speaks out against body-shaming. (Neither Exeter nor Mulroney responded to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.)
“Jessica never wanted to stand up and use her voice in the first place and didn’t understand why she needed to,” Exeter said. “This I found quite strange because she’s very vocal about supporting many causes. Also, her best friend is arguably one of the most famous black women in the world. I just don’t get it.” (The Daily Beast has reached out to Meghan Markle’s representatives for comment.)
“What happened next was a series of very problematic behavior and antics that ultimately resulted in her sending me a threat in writing last Wednesday, June 3,” Exeter said.
While Exeter was quick to note she “would not call Jess a racist,” she added the stylist displayed “textbook white privilege” in their interactions.
“She is very well aware of her wealth, her perceived power, and privilege because of the color of her skin,” Exeter said. “That, my friends, gave her the momentary confidence to come for my livelihood in writing.”
Exeter alleged that Mulroney reached out to certain brands the influencer usually works with, telling them to end their relationship. Exeter says that Mulroney ended their back-and-forth with the threat: “I have also spoken to companies and people about the way you treated me unfairly.”
This made Exeter feel “paralyzed with fear,” as she was “worried about the ramifications and what would happen if I actually stood up for myself.”
According to Exeter, “Jessica basically ticked every single box of what a white woman should absolutely not do during the biggest racial uproar in history. Citing that this really wasn’t a problem she wanted to share on social channels, excuses that she’d be vilified by the public and the media if she did so, said her show was important to promote.”
Mulroney replied to Exeter first in a comment on the video, writing, “You are right when you say, ‘This shit needs to stop.’ As leaders, we need to join hands and call out wrongs. I know we have different experiences. And that is something that, even in the course of a heated argument, I need to acknowledge and understand. I am unequivocally sorry for not doing that with you, and for any hurt I caused.
“As I told you privately, I have lived a very public and personal experience with my closest friend where race was front and centre. It was deeply educational. I learned a lot from that. I promise to continue to learn and listen on how I can use my privilege to elevate and support black voices.”
The stylist also took to her own page, writing that she and Exeter “had a disagreement.”
“She rightfully called me out for not doing enough when it came to engaging in the important and difficult conversation about race and injustice in society,” Mulroney went on. “I took it personally and that was wrong. I know I need to do better.”
She apologized to Exeter, adding, “I did not intend in any way to jeopardize her livelihood. We had a disagreement and it got out of hand. I also know that this is not about me, nor should it be about me. It is about the black community that has been subject to racism, discrimination, and violence for far too long.”
Mulroney then added she would step back from social media “in the coming days” and intends to “[give] my microphone to black voices by having them take over my account and share their experiences.”
Despite Mulroney’s supposed mea culpa, the next day Exeter shared on her Instagram stories what she says was a DM from Mulroney, sent after she watched the video.
“Liable suit. Good luck,” the direct message read.
“Poor thing didn’t even spell ‘libel’ correctly,” Exeter wrote.
