Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum should have been fired immediately for supporting the pro-Palestinian student protesters, says “Shark Tank” host and investor Kevin O’Leary.
“I would have fired this individual seconds after he made those remarks. Be gone,” O’Leary said of Dudum on Fox Business’ “The Big Money Show” on Monday.
Dudum expressed support for the anti-Israel student protests that have rocked American colleges like Columbia University and UCLA. On May 1, Dudum said in an X post that student protesters should “keep going” because “it’s working.”
“There are plenty of companies & CEOs eager to hire you, regardless of university discipline,” Dudum wrote before attaching a link to his company’s careers page.
Moral courage > College degree
If you’re currently protesting against the genocide of the Palestinian people & for your university’s divestment from Israel, keep going. It’s working.
There are plenty of companies & CEOs eager to hire you, regardless of university discipline.…
— andrewdudum (@AndrewDudum) May 1, 2024
Dudum’s remarks, O’Leary said, were self-serving and detrimental to his company’s interests.
“Who are you serving by saying that? You know you’re in a highly polarized situation. Fifty percent of your market does not agree with your view. We know that’s the case. People are very polarized by this war, as they are in every war,” O’Leary said.
“You’re serving yourself,” he added. “And for that I call you an idiot, and I whack you.”
On Sunday, Dudum clarified his stance, saying in an X post that “there is absolutely no justification for violence on our campuses.”
“Every student deserves to feel safe without fear of harm or being targeted for who they are,” Dudum wrote. “I am deeply saddened that my support for peaceful protest has been interpreted by some as encouraging violence, intimidation, or bigotry of any kind.”
I do believe deeply in the right for people to use their voices in peaceful protest to drive change. This right is critical to our democracy and must be protected. Our world today is more just because students throughout history have courageously taken to their campuses and used…
— andrewdudum (@AndrewDudum) May 5, 2024
Representatives for O’Leary and Dudum didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.
This isn’t the first time O’Leary has warned about the consequences of taking a stand on the Israel’s war on Gaza could have on one’s career.
Last week, the businessman said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Five” that pro-Palestinian student protesters will be “screwed” when they start job hunting. This, O’Leary says, is because employers can rely on advancements in artificial intelligence to screen out applicants who joined the protests.
“This is what’s happening with AI. So if you’re burning down something, or taking a flag down, or fighting with police, I’m sorry, you’re trashing your personal brand,” O’Leary told CNN’s Laura Poole in an interview on May 1.
Dudum’s partial walk back of his remarks on the protests also highlights the challenges executives face when dealing with highly contentious political issues.
Last month, a group of Google workers filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, saying they were fired for protesting the tech giant’s work with Israel.
In their complaint, the workers claimed they were engaging in a “peaceful, non-disruptive protest.”
“This is a very clear case of employees disrupting and occupying work spaces, and making other employees feel threatened and unsafe,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to BI.
“By any standard, their behavior was completely unacceptable – and widely seen as such,” the statement continued.
