A State Farm executive was fired after his Tinder date filmed him making insensitive remarks about the LA wildfire victims.
Haden Kirkpatrick, who was State Farm’s vice president for innovation and venture capital, went out on what he thought would be an ordinary date.
Only later did he realize that he was secretly being recorded by the person opposite him. His callous comments wound up costing his job.
Highlights
- Haden Kirkpatrick was captured making questionable comments in a bombshell video.
- The footage was secretly filmed by his Tinder date in January and released this month.
- The State Farm executive was fired after his comments went viral.
A State Farm executive was fired for his questionable comments, which were secretly recorded during a Tinder date
Image credits: O’Keefe Media Group
The undercover video, captured during a January date, was published by O'Keefe Media Group, which shares information from “citizen journalists” to “[expose] the corruption.”
The bombshell video included Haden’s statements about the recent LA wildfires, which scorched 57,000 acres of land, destroyed more than 12,000 homes, and claimed the lives of 29 people.
Dismissing people’s suffering, Haden said people built their homes in such fire-prone areas because of their “ego.”
Image credits: LACoFD
“People want to build in areas where they want to have, like, natural areas around them for their ego,” he was caught saying. “But it's also a f***ing desert. And so, it dries out as a tinderbox.”
Areas like Palisades, which saw a number of celebrity homes destroyed in the January fires, should “never” have had “houses built in the first place,” he said.
Among Haden’s other questionable statements in the video, he said he was “biased… away from [his] own kind” and wanted his HR team to create a “2040” workforce that had more “Hispanic and Latino” employees.
Haden Kirkpatrick was fired after the video was published by O'Keefe Media Group
Image credits: O’Keefe Media Group
Image credits: O’Keefe Media Group
The now-former State Farm executive also claimed the company’s request for an emergency 22% rate hike for its homeowners’ policies was “kind of” orchestrated “but not in the way you would think.”
“Our people look at this and say, ‘S—, we’ve got like maybe $5 billion that we’re short if something happens,’” he told his date.
Image credits: O’Keefe Media Group
“We’ll go to the Department of Insurance and say, ‘We’re overexposed here, you have to let us catch up on [our] rates.’ … He’ll say ‘Nah.’ And we’ll say, ‘OK, then we are going to cancel these policies,’” he continued.
State Farm General, a subsidiary of State Farm that is the largest home insurer in California, had asked state regulators to approve an immediate 22% rate increase for homeowners last month.
They cited mounting losses and recent wildfire claims to justify the increase.
State Farm distanced itself from Haden and confirmed that he was no longer affiliated with the company
Image credits: L.A. County Fire Department
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara had initially rejected State Farm's request for the hike but agreed to consider more evidence on the matter.
After Haden’s video went viral, Ricardo’s spokesperson Michael Soller asked for answers from State Farm.
“This only raises more questions,” the spokesperson said.
Haden was captured making the callous comments in the video below
Following the release of the video, State Farm confirmed in a statement that Haden was fired and no longer affiliated with the company.
The company also noted that his claims in the viral video clip were “inaccurate and in no way represent the views of State Farm.”
“They do not reflect our position regarding the victims of this tragedy, the commitment we have demonstrated to the people of California, or our hiring practices across the company,” the statement continued.
Social media users had mixed reactions to the State Farm executive's comments about the devastating LA wildfires
Image credits: USDA Forest Service via Angeles National Forest / X
Netizens had mixed reactions to Haden’s claims in the video, with one saying, “He is not wrong.”
“So he spoke the truth and gets fired,” one said, while another wrote, “I detect no lies.”
“Fired for telling the truth,” another said.
On the other hand, one said, “The guy has limited common sense and instincts. He spills it at a bar to a person with a hidden camera.”
“He didn't deserve to get fired for what he said. He deserved to get fired for being a boring date,” one quipped. “My God you're NOT getting laid by droning on about your job and the property insurance business!”
Some called for a boycott of the insurance provider.
“Boycott State Farm,” one said.
Image credits: L.A. County Fire Department
Image credits: LACoFD
Another agreed, saying, “State Farm should be boycotted & sued.”
“I just canceled my state farm,” another wrote, “Thanks for the information. I'm going to let all my friends and family know. State Farm is a racist company.”