| TRIGGER WARNING This article or section, or pages it links to, contains information about sexual assault and/or violence which may be triggering to survivors. |
In April 2014, Slate reported that Gurbaksh Chahal — founder, CEO, and chairman of ad network company RadiumOne — had pleaded guilty to two misdemeanours of domestic violence battery and battery, following an initial charge of 45 felony offences after he was allegedly caught on video beating his girlfriend and arrested in August 2013. Slate writer Jordan Weissmann asked why investors and customers continued to do business with RadiumOne.
Following reports that Chahal controlled enough RadiumOne shares that he could not be forced by shareholders to leave, Anil Dash and others on Twitter called for RadiumOne's customers to terminate their contracts, and for others to leave the company, under the hashtag "#DropRadium".
On the 26th of April, the RadiumOne board fired Chahal as CEO.
Responses
- Jason Calacanis offers to donate $10,000 to an anti-domestic violence charity in exchange for a copy of the security tape, which he planned to play on his podcast. Model View Culture responded "Where can we begin with how predatory, violent and opportunistic this is?"
- TechCrunch disendorses RadiumOne as a sponsor and business partner, April 26
- Conde Nast Reviews Relationship With RadiumOne After Allegations Against CEO, April 25 (Conde Nast has a vendor relationship, not an investment relationship as some sources implied)
- RadiumOne statement on Chahal's dismissal
Chahal's response
Trigger warning for victim-blaming, domestic abuse, and violence against sex workers.
On the 27th and 28th of April, Chahal authored two blog posts defending himself. Amongst many other assertions, he claims to have gotten angry on discovering that his partner was a sex worker. He goes on to blame the media and the "Court of Public Opinion" for his dismissal.
External links
- Slate article by Jordan Weissmann
- Nitasha Tiku @ Valleywag: Tech CEO Dodges Felony Charge Despite Horrifying Abuse Video
- Nitasha Tiku @ Valleywag: Gurbaskh Chahal Fired for Domestic Violence, Calls Victim a Whore
