White female boss dressed as Whoopi Goldberg for Oscars-themed work party

Telegraph

3 days ago

A white female executive racially harassed her black colleague when she dressed up as Whoopi Goldberg from Sister Act at an Oscar-themed work party, a tribunal heard.
Jerry Logo said he experienced an 'immediate rush of anxiety' when he saw Agnes Ganswindt wearing the costume from the 1992 comedy with her face painted black at the office Christmas get-together.
The accounts manager told a tribunal that it made him think of the 'dehumanisation' of black people, which caused him to suffer a panic attack.
A panel found that Miss Ganswindt, a customer service agent, was 'genuinely unaware' that a white woman dressing up as a black actress might be offensive to someone who is black.
Mr Logo sued for racial harassment, but his case was dismissed because he had brought the case four years after the event took place.
But after hearing how his employers themselves agreed the 'black-face' event did constitute harassment, an appeal judge has now ruled that the claim should be reheard.
The employment appeal tribunal (EAT) heard that Mr Logo started working in the UK for German payments firm Payone in November 2016 as an accounts manager.
Some four days after he started work, while at the company's Frankfurt office for induction training, the business held a Christmas party themed as Oscars night.
The tribunal said: 'Miss Ganswindt, who is white, attended the event dressed as the character played by Whoopi Goldberg in the Sister Act films.'
'Immediate rush of anxiety'
Mr Logo said he felt an 'immediate rush of anxiety' when he saw the person, who he later realised was Miss Ganswindt, in 'black face paint'.
The earlier employment tribunal hearing, which took place in Watford in 2023, was overseen by employment Judge Judith George.
She said that the panel accepted that not only had Miss Ganswindt chosen the costume before she met Mr Logo, but she was also not aware that he would be in attendance.
The judge said the black-face did occur, adding: 'It is conceded by [PayOne] that this incident would amount to race-related harassment on the basis of the unwanted conduct causing the harassing effect, and we accept that it does.
'[Mr Logo] argued that this incident was harassment because Miss Ganswindt had the purpose of creating the harassing effect.
'We accept, after careful consideration, that she was genuinely unaware that a black British person would be likely to associate a white woman dressed as a black actress with an offensive and demeaning portrayal of people based on race.'