Emily Compagno, a co-host on the Fox News program Outnumbered, drew criticism after she praised the CEO of Better.com for firing 900 employees on a Zoom call.
Without offering any evidence, Compagno erroneously claimed the firing was necessary in an effort to stop employee "theft" of company time.
Compagno's comments come as Better CEO Vishal Garg finds himself at the center of controversy after he laid off 900 employees, 9% of the company's workforce, over a Zoom call just one day after receiving a $750 million cash infusion as part of a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Fox News host Emily Compagno celebrates the Better dot com CEO's mass Zoom firing:
"I loved this, I love this so much! ... I love that for 900 people he stayed safe and he let them know that their theft was no longer tolerated."
"For all of them, they're probably snowflakes!" pic.twitter.com/ARQ967iKA0
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) December 8, 2021
In her remarks, Compagno said she "loved" Garg's decision to fire all of the employees, praising it as a sign of good business instincts:
“I loved this, actually. I loved this so much…. I love that for 900 people, he stayed safe and he let them know that their theft was no longer tolerated.”
“So, for me, good riddance. And I feel bad that he’s now having to capitulate to the other execs at this company and apologize for it. Sorry guys, bye!”
Compagno then suggested the mass layoff of these workers, whom she referred to as "snowflakes," was justified because of their lack of "work ethic":
"For all of them, they’re snowflakes. They’re probably Millennials and Zs. They need to learn work ethic.”
Compagno's remarks stunned her co-hosts, including former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who uttered a stunned "Wow" even as Compagno continued to proclaim that she "loved" Garg's decision.
She has since faced heavy criticism online for behavior social media users have decried as heartless.
Fox News host Emily Compagno celebrates the Better dot com CEO's mass Zoom firing:
"I loved this, I love this so much! ... I love that for 900 people he stayed safe and he let them know that their theft was no longer tolerated."
"For all of them, they're probably snowflakes!" pic.twitter.com/ARQ967iKA0
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) December 8, 2021
Can we all watch on Zoom when Emily Compagno is sacked. She sounds like a sociopath. Even her fellow Fox News colleagues were shocked https://t.co/KySm31nTU9
— Andrew Yee (@AndrewYee2) December 10, 2021
“Go corporations! Fuck the little guys!” Hahaha fox is a shell of itself. A corporate front for the worst kind of cheerleading for greed and corrupt politics. https://t.co/JJWdfqwAH9
— Friend of Justice ⚖️ (@friendojustice) December 10, 2021
If you thought Tucker Carlson is the most banal evil can get, wait till you meet @EmilyCompagno https://t.co/dkra8vzX8v
— Idrees Ahmad (@im_PULSE) December 11, 2021
When you’re not used to partisan cable news sociopathic young worker bashing like this clip really shocks the conscious. This is the propaganda your parents have been marinading in for DECADES. It’s no wonder Boomers are so hateful and economically illiterate. https://t.co/bA00JEIJIo
— GonzoApp (@GonzoApp) December 9, 2021
What an absolute shitbag, even for #FoxNews standards. Just the worst fucking people. @EmilyCompagno is garbage. https://t.co/O4W8xJ2yyD
— Dad Beyond Time (@DadWarped) December 9, 2021
Some people you imagined only existing as characters in a cheap Sunday afternoon TV movie. https://t.co/W5g7CrXkfx
— kristof debergh (@kdebergh) December 9, 2021
Imagine being this miserable with your life https://t.co/UgXqKhJ1NG
— zjm (@_xzachcle) December 10, 2021
You’ve never loved anything as much as this woman loves firing people https://t.co/MCvR9jwCnM
— Devin Kutner (@dkdebur11) December 9, 2021
Better's Board of Directors recently announced that Garg would be taking a leave of absence after the “very regrettable events over the last week.”
Emails that surfaced this week show that Garg berated Howard Newman of the investment firm Pine Brook Partners, a top venture capital investor, calling him "sewage" and an "ingrate and a thug and a miserable miser" after plans to take Better public fell apart.
Employees have also criticized Better's toxic work culture, with one former employee saying that Garg, who “leads by fear,” would "threaten employees to work harder, faster and not be lazy, but there was never clarity on what the consequences might be.”