CAA Lit Agent Jay Baker Apologizes for Comparing Black

Fired Creative Artists Agency literary agent Jay Baker apologized on Saturday for evaluating one in every of his colleagues, the supervisor Jewerl Ross, to a crack addict in a scene from “Menace 2 Society.”

“I deeply regret my actions and the pain I have caused Jewerl Ross,” Baker, who was ousted from CAA on Friday, mentioned in an announcement to Deadline. “I have apologized to him, and I also want to apologize to anyone else whom my behavior has offended. I have no excuse and I take full responsibility. I am a work in progress and I’ve embarked on a journey to fully understand what it means to be truly anti-racist. I promise that my actions going forward will reflect that learning.”

According to an electronic mail obtained by Deadline, Ross — who’s Black — mentioned he was “horrified” after Baker mentioned Ross’ request for an early screening of an upcoming movie was like “the crack addict scene from ‘Menace 2 Society’” after which proceeded to ship Ross a clip of the precise scene for him to look at.

“No black man in America wants to think that a white person thinks that asking for a favor is like asking for crack,” Ross wrote within the electronic mail. “The first thing that crossed my mind is that if I were white and asked for a favor, would you ever have thought of this scene? And would you ever have sent it me?”

Ross didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.