Campbell’s said Wednesday that a vice president who was embroiled in a public firestorm over a lawsuit and secret recording was no longer at the company.
The recording appeared to show the now-former executive, Martin Bally, disparaging customers and colleagues and referring to the company’s chicken as “3D-printed.”
“The comments were vulgar, offensive and false, and we apologize for the hurt they have caused,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. “This behavior does not reflect our values and the culture of our company, and we will not tolerate that kind of language under any circumstances.”
The accusations about Bally were made in a lawsuit filed in Michigan on November 20 by Robert Garza, a former Campbell’s employee. Garza said he was unjustly fired after complaining about Bally’s conduct.
Garza said he secretly recorded a conversation where Bally — then Campbell’s vice president of information technology — insulted the intelligence of “Indians,” belittled customers, and blasted the company’s products in a profane rant.
“After a review, we believe the voice on the recording is in fact Martin Bally,” Campbell’s said on Wednesday.
Garza’s law firm provided Business Insider with a copy of the recording. It wasn’t included as an exhibit in the lawsuit and Business Insider hasn’t independently verified its authenticity.
In a sample quote from the conversation, the person in the recording said Campbell’s products were “shit for fucking poor people” and “unhealthy.”
“Even in a can of soup — I look at it, and look at bioengineered meat,” the person said. “I don’t want to eat a fucking piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer, do you?”
Campbell’s said the description of its food is “patently absurd.”
The company said in a Tuesday statement that Bally was “on leave” before saying on Wednesday that he “is no longer employed by the company.”
The remarks caused a firestorm online and caught the eye of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who said he would investigate the company because of the state’s ban on lab-grown meat.
Campbell’s said Wednesday that it first heard audio from the conversation on Thursday, the same day Garza filed his lawsuit.
Bally didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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