Barrett Evans, who works as the Chief Learning Officer at Ford Motor Company, sparked an online backlash after taking to social media to blast a fellow passenger onboard his flight to San Diego.
Evans saw that passenger watching Fox News on the plane’s seatback entertainment screen. Then, while they deplaned, he saw the elderly man and his wife using airline-provided wheelchair assistance to their connecting gate.
- ‘Love to see you supporting DEI’ he told the man.
- ‘Not me!’ the elderly passenger replied.
- ‘Yes – you. That wheelchair, and the human pushing it, are provided at no direct cost to you—rather by a subsidized cost attributed to every passenger in this airport. Provided to level the playing field—for you.’ he replied.
In a follow-up, he argued that wheelchair assistance was an example of DEI in action ensures equitable access for those who require assistance, regardless of their ability to pay. (Although, in fact, there’s very much a tipping expectation for the low-paid wheelchair assistance contract workers.)
wtf is a Chief Learning Officer https://t.co/B78A6rj9cf
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) April 14, 2025
Evans has made his Threads account private.
One Mile at a Time says he agrees with the point being made but doesn’t think sharing snark on a plane is the right time for it. He says that the Ford exec “actually made the point really well” but that he shouldn’t have gotten on a soapbox over someone watching Fox News inflight.
I’d say that a DEI advocate going after a wheelchair passenger is… something. And going after them because of what they suppose to be that individual’s ideas evinces a real lack of respect for diversity (of thought) as well as offering a poor example by making assumptions about another person based on their appearance (that they’re watching a specific news channel).
Contra Lucky, I don’t think he makes the point well at all because wheelchair accommodations have little to do with DEI. This is something governed by the The Air Carrier Access Act (49 U.S.C. § 41705) of 1986. Disability accommodation may be consonant with but is not the same as DEI, and there’s no reason why support for it requires support for a broader agenda surrounding race, gender identity, sexuality, and ethnicity. And in any case, the former long predates the latter.
Live and Let’s Fly on the other hand characterizes the rant as mean-spirited, and I’d suggest hardly inclusive.
The Chief Learning Officer of a major global corporation is out of their depth here and displaying exceptionally poor judgment taking on an elderly passenger in need of wheelchair assistance and putting him on blast on the internet – and that he might consider doing additional learning himself about the relevant issues before someone decides he’s unqualified for his current role. I also suspect that many Fox News viewers buy Ford trucks? At least they used to.
The man is right. Someone who relies on society to level the playing field for them shouldn’t advocate for anyone else to not receive the same treatment.
Makes me want to go out and by a Ford vehicle.
All the red pile people here realizing the Ford guy is right. It is DEI. Yet the red pile people do gymnastics trying to say it’s not.
Do some of you idiots not realize that the ADA is a law promulgated by the Government and that DEI is an initiative that has nothing to do with the former?
You’re entitled to a wheelchair on an airplane because you’re disabled. You’re not entitled to one if you’re gay, a transvestite, have certain religious beliefs or are a member of a certain race or sex.
More clickbait for Gary. Things must be slow on the credit card referral revenue front.
The race to cancel this guy by the very people who have derided cancel culture would be laughable were it just another example of how people believe in “free speech for me, but not for thee.”
For all of you trying to split hairs claiming equal access for disabilities is NOT a DEI initiative, you need to read EVERY equal opportunity statement made by employers. It includes things like disability and veterans status. Sorry to burst your bubble, but you can’t have it both ways. EVERY initiative to level the playing field for those with disabilities, those who are veterans, etc. are examples of DEI in action.
So, @cairns if you are going to come for the “transvestites” or “gay” people, those with disabilities and veterans are going to be collateral damage.
DEI = Diversity EQUITY and Inclusion
Providing the disabled EQUAL access to aircraft = EQUITY
Disability is part of DEI. It’s not some separate issue. Just because there are laws like the Air Carrier Access Act doesn’t mean it’s outside the DEI conversation—most modern DEI work includes disability, especially around accessibility and inclusion.
“Diversity of thought” isn’t a shield. Calling something out—especially when tied to a platform known for inflammatory views—isn’t the same as being anti-diversity. That phrase often gets used to dodge accountability for views that are exclusionary.
Criticism isn’t exclusion. If someone sees a public figure watching a controversial network and makes a pointed comment about it, that’s fair game for debate. You can argue whether the tone was helpful, sure—but it’s not oppression.
@Parker is right. In all the hubub over the D and the I people skipped right over the E. Equity is there to level the playing field for ALL and is not rooted in race even though many believe it to be so.
One of the executive actions Trump overturned that directly connects to his anti DEI agenda was from 1965. Just because what DEI encompasses has evolved over time doesn’t mean that a 1986 law has nothing to do with the essence of DEI. Completely fair to call someone out for having anti DEI views while they simultaneously benefit from the early laws and initiatives that started the DEI movement. Author of this post is clearly biased and out of touch with the reality of how the work towards equitable access has impacted people and evolved over time.
Don’t fret over the distinction between DEI and ADA because they are working at taking down the ADA, too. Long-standing guidance on hotel and lodging among those removed a month ago since that is easier to take down than the law itself: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-actions-combat-cost-living-crisis-including-rescinding-11
I will admit that I’m a little confused. Since when does watching Fox News imply steadfast agreement with Fox News? Consuming media isn’t necessarily an act of blind loyalty. It’s often merely a way to understand different perspectives. Assuming people only engage with content they already agree with is pretty cynical, and completely dismissive of critical thinking.
Find something better to do. This exec sounds like the life of the party.
Maybe he sparked a moment of self-reflection in these people. I hear God works in mysterious ways.
I don’t really care to wade into this cluster but someone really needs to start convincing Sean Duffy and crew that service animals are DEI so that we can move past this whole farcical chapter in society. IMO this chapter makes that task more difficult.
So if i decide to watch MSNBC for. A flight, or Fox News on the next, i have to worry about reactions of fellow travelers? Just because someone has TDS or Right Wing view points doesnt bother me until they care to share it with me uninitiated. Then you will probably find that i don’t respond well.
What a totally stupid article. “Entitled”…uh…NO! Cairnes is exactly right. ADA=Americans with Disabilities Act. DEI= Didn’t Earn It. Who does this Ford executive think he is? The almighty Oracle of sensibly and rules? Just because a passenger watches CNN or Fox or TLC doesn’t mean a damned thing. SO WHAT? Just because someone is driving a Rolls Royce doesn’t mean that he owns it. Same thing with television…doesn’t mean he caters to the station’s narrative. If the Ford goombah said that to me, I’d tell him to “f**k off and mind your own business.” Hopefully Ford will say something to him. Puts Ford in a bad light.
For all those that say E=Equity so the man get on the plane are 100% wrong. Since the industry entered existence, the airlines allowed everyone to board with a ticket. No policy was needed by the government to allow disabled people to get on a plane. The airlines are publicly traded companies and encourage as much business as possible.
I’m a conservative who checks out CNN because that’s what a good American does. A good American believes in our most sacred right as Americans under the constitution which obviously this employee from Ford skipped class in high school on. If you don’t respect one freedom of expression, not only shouldn’t you have a mouthpiece in this country you shouldn’t even be allowed in this country. As a conservative, I don’t care if this Ford guy is a conservative himself, he just sounds like an asshole that doesn’t understand the freedoms that we have in this country. Putting people in boxes merely by watching one behavioral trait, is a very radically liberal horrific way to treat people.
Sounds like a swell guy.
I see that his LinkedIn has been taken down.
@Win Whitmire since most of the states that receive more monies from the federal government than they pay in taxes are also the states where people cry out against DEI policies I guess they “Didn’t Earn It” either. Funny how that works and works to the benefit of the very people attacking policies that benefit themselves.
The ENTIRE premise of the ADA is to provide disabled with EQUAL (there’s that pesky word again) access to buildings, services and employment accommodation. Split hairs you want but the intention of the ADA was to address real and deceived discrimination.
Facts can be so darned inconvenient.
The coward even took his LinkedIn profile private.
But likely they will need it for their upcoming job hunt.
I’ve been holding back on this one because it’s just silly. It’s a distraction. It’s manufactured outrage. (Which I assume is great for websites that rely on engagement…woohoo!) But, this ‘story’ is the equivalent of the ‘Two Minutes Hate’ daily ritual–a collective frenzy of hatred, designed to redirect anger away from real issues. Yet, this ‘incident’ is not ‘breaking through’ the realities of the market volatility caused by #45/47’s tariffs, His betrayal of our former allies, and the eroding of the rule of law in our country. Those remain. Those are real.
I also find it ironic how the mere word ‘DEI,’ or images like at LALF with this guy and his partner (rainbow flag in background), or how some other ‘culture war’ topic brings out specific ‘culture warrior’ commenters here–often so quick to ‘cancel’ your opponents, yet when your side is ‘canceled’ you whine. I know… there is no more shame, and hypocrisy doesn’t matter. Alrighty then. And, it’s just funny to me that those ‘warriors’ never say much about frequent flyer programs, credit cards, etc. It just makes me think that many of you are empty, partisan hacks. It’s sad.
I think this Ford exec is voicing his extreme frustration at the success the right-wing noise machine has had in convincing people that something everyone would be in favor of if they properly understood it is harmful to society.
Lets be honest….of course Lucky agrees with him. Is anyone surprised by this?
Disability accommodations are directed by law (ADA), where DEI is not.
The Ford executive is a smug @$$hole…end of story.
Lucky’s take finally did me in with his constant partisan crap. A man accosting strangers on the internet over what news station they enjoy and then bragging about it is wrong every time. Leave people the hell alone. I’m done giving him ad revenue.
And the argument was flawed, as you rightly pointed out.
This executive was correct.
Conservatives that happily denigrate DEI are splitting hairs and doing mental contortions in an attempt to dissociate it from DEI, but this exective explained his reasoning quite well.
This article implies it was a spontaneous remark against an elderly person with a purported handicap that required use of wheelchair assistance, based solely on that individual having watched Fox online. The reality is, we really have no idea if there was any previous interaction that may have prompted this executive’s remark.
Disabilities are a protected class and the ADA covers those criteria. If mandating 10% of the NFL football teams, NBA Basketball teams, etc. have persons in wheelchairs would be more equivalent comparison with DEI.
Or one step further, If all NBA teams had to have a minimum number of “Caucasians”, and a minimum number of Asians, etc. regardless of their ability and capabilities – THAT would be DEI.
Were all the other passengers required to walk behind the elderly gentleman? Did the airline kick off a passenger so the elderly gentleman could fly? Was another passenger denied access to the wheelchair because the elderly gentleman was using it?
Disability knows no Race, Creed, Sex, Gender, Age, or anything else that DEI covers.
Also when flying do you want the best qualified pilot available, or the best qualified lesbian, transgender, minority pilot available?
If people were really for DEI, then they would be pushing for applications to remove Age, Sex, Race, and any other identification of the candidate, so the candidates can be selected solely on merit.
I forgot this, but WTF is a Chief Learning Officer?
@Paul Valentine – You better be careful or you will called a right wing (put a noun here). Congrats if you are one, me too.
@Paul Valentine – It is a DEI title.
@Paulz one could argue that DEI is in fact directed by law. We have laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex and race in most places and based on religion, sexual orientation and gender in many places. These anti-discrimination laws are intended to ensure equality as defined by equal access to things like employment, housing, healthcare, an education, etc.
What’s fascinating about the DEI/Anti-DEI argument is that it’s just two sides of the same coin. Certain groups that were once seen as perpetuating inequality are now saying that they themselves have become the victims of inequality and deserve to be treated equally. So, in essence, they are demanding the very same equality they claim to oppose. It’s kind of a mind-f when you start to see the circular argument in this.
To me it’s sad that we even have to have conversations like this just because there are people who genuinely believe that all people are not created equal and then act on that belief.
@Paul Valentine “Also when flying do you want the best qualified pilot available, or the best qualified lesbian, transgender, minority pilot available? ” is major oversimplification of equality and a dog whistle to certain groups.
DEI is not and has never been about putting incompetent people into positions where they can to harm. It is about saying that, when provide with the same resources, everyone should have an equal shot. Equity by definition would not allow quota-based anything and people that say is does or is should are corrupting the definition of equity for their own selfish reasons. And example of why equality matters:
There is very compelling evidence in medicine that physicians who provide care to people who look like them (race, sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation) do a better job of caring for these patients than other physicians do in very quantifiable ways. Why? Because one is more likely to understand context, and context is king. I have seen it on both sides. White providers judging brown patients because of how they show up for healthcare and brown providers judging white patients for how they show up for care. In both situations patients are not as well cared-for as they could have been.
My TV plan does not have Fox News but I do get MSNBC and CNN which I believe to are biased to the left. I watched both of those networks on election night in November just to see the news anchors meltdown. Just because I watched those two networks does not mean I follow or believe anything they say.
I’ll watch whatever I want on TV and it is no one else’s business. And if anyone ever gets snarky with my elderly mom, they’ll get the same treatment that Billy Bob Thornton gave that Mexican in Landman