Facebook’s Communications VP Apologizes After Calling Woman ‘Not Nice’

Elliot Schrage, the vice president of communications and public policy at Facebook, apologized for calling a woman “not nice,” which she claimed was an act of sexism, and announced his departure from the company.

“Schrage announced that he was leaving Facebook after a decade on Thursday. His decision came just four days after investor Natasha Lamb accused him of dismissing her in a sexist way at the company’s shareholder meeting last month,” reported Business Insider, who added that just days before announcing his departure from the company, Schrage apologized to the female investor via email.

Schrage’s decision to leave Facebook has not been tied to the incident with Lamb by either Schrage himself or by Facebook, but occurred just four days after.

Lamb accused Schrage of sexism after he responded to her complaints about an alleged “gender pay gap” at Facebook, “hate speech,” and “fake news,” by calling her “not nice.”

“Calling a woman ‘not nice’ who’s being assertive and asking questions is just a classic example, almost a meme of sexism,” claimed Lamb, who described Schrage’s comment as “stunning.”

In his apology email, Schrage declared, “I want to apologize directly for my comments when we met at the FB shareholder meeting… I shouldn’t have expressed myself – and should never express myself – in ways that can correctly be interpreted as insulting or offensive.”

“I was wrong to do so,” he continued. “I respect shareholders who shed light on important issues and push companies like ours to act thoughtfully and responsibly.”