Solid8 CEO Michael Lofthouse resigned from his tech startup after he was caught going on a racist tangent toward an Asian American family at a restaurant in Carmel, California, on the Fourth of July.
Lofthouse, who apologized for his behavior last week, announced his resignation in a statement late Saturday, saying he has enrolled in an “anti-racist program” and was entering into a journey of sobriety after the incident.
“I will make it my duty to ensure my personal actions do not continue to have a detrimental impact on those people closest to me,” Lofthouse said. “I have once again begun my journey back to sobriety and have enrolled in an anti-racist program with immediate effect.”
“My comments towards the families involved were racist, hurtful, and deeply inappropriate,” he added. “The reactions to what was said have been deserved, and I wholeheartedly acknowledge that I am complicit in a system that enables this behavior and these broken beliefs to exist, but I am dedicated to changing.”
Lofthouse was seen in a viral video extending his middle finger toward the Chan family and saying, “Trump’s gonna f— you.” He also told them, “You need to f—ing leave, you Asian piece of shit.” A server can be seen in the footage demanding that he leave and never return to the restaurant.
The family previously pushed back on Lofthouse’s apology, saying they didn’t find it to be genuine after the encounter.
“He’s just saving face,” said Raymond Orosa, the uncle of Jordan Chan, who posted the video to social media. “I think he really meant what he said and what he did.”
