Disney Co. chariman/CEO Robert Iger said Tuesday he decided against firing ESPN "SportsCenter" co-host Jemele Hill for calling President Donald Trump a white supremacist on Twitter after considering the context of Hill's tweets.
Speaking at Vanity Fair's New Establishment Summit in Los Angeles, the chief executive of ESPN's parent company said he became involved in the decision whether to fire Hill over her Trump tweets.
MORE: Hill says her tweets on Trump reflect her 'personal belief'
Though Hill violated ESPN's social media policies, Iger said he looked at the history of racism in America, the anger Hill and other African-Americans feel over recent race riots in Charlottesville, Va., and Trump's comments in the days after the riots.
“I've not ever experienced prejudice, certainly not racism. It’s even hard for me to understand what they're feeling about this, what it feels like to experience racism,” Iger told moderator Nick Bilton. “So I felt we needed to take into account what Jemele and other people at ESPN were feeling at this time. That resulted in us not taking action on the tweet she put out."
Despite criticism that ESPN leans left politically, Iger said he supported the right of ESPN on-air talent to speak out on social issues.
Hill co-hosts the 6 p.m. "SportsCenter" with Michael Smith.