- A CEO was fired after he was recorded insulting a high school student over his prom dress.
- Dalton Stevens, 18, wore a floor-length red gown to his senior prom at Franklin High School.
- Local telemedicine company VisuWell announced it had fired CEO Sam Johnson in light of the incident.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Sam Johnson, the now-former CEO of the Tennessee healthcare company VisuWell, was fired after video footage of him publicly ridiculing a high school senior over his prom dress went viral.
Dalton Stevens, 18, wore a floor-length red gown to his senior prom at Franklin High School on Saturday, about 20 miles south of Nashville.
"He did his big 'prom-posal' and asked me to prom," Jacob Geittman, Stevens' boyfriend, told WKRN. "And he decided he was going to wear a dress, and I'm like, 'Okay! You're going to look good in it!'"
Stevens told the local ABC News affiliate WKRN-TV he felt "very confident" and "beautiful" in the dress.
But while Stevens and Geittman were taking photos with the rest of their prom group at the Harpeth Hotel in downtown Franklin, video showed a man, later identified as Johnson, insulting Stevens in his dress.
In videos Geitmann posted on Twitter, Johnson can be heard calling Stevens an "idiot" and other inaudible insults.
—Jacob Geittmann (@jacobgeittmann2)
April 25, 2021
—Jacob Geittmann (@jacobgeittmann2)
April 25, 2021
"Slander terms thrown towards me of like 'you look bad,' 'you've got hair on your chest, you shouldn't be wearing a dress,' 'you're not a man,' blah, blah, blah," Stevens told WKRN. "The fact that he thought he had the audacity to come tell me what I was supposed to wear, and what I was supposed to do because of his standards."
Geitmann told WKRN "you can have your thoughts and opinions, [but] keep them to yourself."
"You don't need to go up to a teenager, in public, on their prom night, and publicly shame and harass them for what they decided to wear," he continued.
Stevens echoed those sentiments, saying he thinks "clothing should just be taken as a piece of cloth and nothing more."
"Everybody should just wear what they want and shouldn't be ashamed to wear anything because of societal standards," Stevens told WKRN.
VisuWell announced Monday evening it had fired Johnson after reviewing the video.
"We unequivocally condemn the behavior exhibited by Sam Johnson in a recent video widely circulated on social media," the company said in an official statement released Tuesday. "After investigating the matter and speaking to individuals involved, the VisuWell Board of Directors has chosen to terminate Mr. Johnson from his position as CEO, effective immediately."
VisuWell President and COO Gerry Andrady will take the reins in Johnson's absence.
"VisuWell's culture emphasizes respect, kindness, and compassion, especially for those from traditionally marginalized communities, and we maintain a zero-tolerance policy for intolerance of any kind," the company said in the statement. "Mr. Johnson's actions contradicted the high standards we set for ourselves in promoting the health of those who use our platform."
The Link LonkApril 25, 2021 at 02:00PM
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A Tennessee CEO was fired after he was recorded ridiculing a teenager over his prom dress - Insider
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