During an in-store taping of the Netflix series “Queer Eye” last week, two Old Navy employees of color at the store in Philadelphia said that they and other workers of color were kept in the background while their white employees from other stores were brought in to be featured prominently.
What We Know:
- Monae Alvarado, an employee of the Center City location since February 2018, stated in a now-viral Facebook post — first reported by Philadelphia Magazine — that she and most of her colleagues worked overnight last Tuesday to get the store ready before the taping of “Queer Eye.”
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When she arrived to work at 7 a.m. Aug. 21, Alvarado said she was surprised to find 10 to 15 white employees from other stores in the region. With a responsibility to fulfill online orders, she was informed by a manager that she was to work the second floor — away from the filming area. As she tried to fulfill orders on the first floor, she was sent back to the second floor.
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“I didn’t expect them to bring in other people from other Old Navy stores and then have us pushed to the back,” Alvarado, who is of Cambodian descent, told NBC News on Thursday.”Then my manager called me over and told me they didn’t want me in the front…I don’t know if it was her boss or production.”
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Marjorie Williams, another Center City employee who also worked that day, said that the store’s entire staff was “whitewashed.” Three of the four African American employees working that day were in the back while the other employee, a manager, was “front and center,” Williams said. “Only the whites signed waivers to be filmed,” Williams said. “They did not want us anywhere near the production.”
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Netflix said the cast, producers and crew had no knowledge or influence on filming in the Center City store and that an African American manager was featured in the show, stating “while filming, production featured one female employee, an African American manager, who completed an on-camera styling consultation and also served as a point of contact for our crew…”
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Old Navy has since put out a statement saying the allegations are “completely inaccurate” and against its values as a company. They also stated it “would never select employees to participate — or not — based on race” and that it was “proud to work” with the “Queer Eye” show and to have a local store manager appear on camera.
