Credit Suisse Apologizes For Hiring Dancing Black Man Dressed As Janitor At Chairman’s Birthday

When Credit Suisse chairman Urs Rohner held a party at a Zurich restaurant to celebrate his 60th birthday last year, he could have had any kind of entertainment he wanted.

Apparently, out of all of his options, he somehow wound up choosing to have a black performer, dressed as a janitor, come onstage and dance to music while pretending to sweep the floor. 

While this may have somewhat fit the motif of the party, which had a 1970’s Studio 54 theme according to Bloomberg, it was enough to cause the company’s former CEO, Tidjane Thiam to leave the room. We also can’t honestly think that Rohner would have known a year later, the entire country would be obsessively focused on the issue of race and identity politics.

Having said that, it’s still not a great look for Rohner, or the bank. 

A bank’s spokesperson said this week: “There was never any intention to cause offense, and we are sorry for any offense caused. This is a total mis-characterization of the evening.”

The incident, like every single thing that happens anywhere nowadays, has “sparked a debate about racism” in Switzerland, according to Bloomberg. 

The bank said: “Credit Suisse is strongly committed to equality, diversity and supporting all our employees. Over the past year Credit Suisse has taken additional strides to show our commitment to under-represented groups within the firm, and is putting in place broader initiatives to further this. As a company, we are proud to be a geographically and culturally diverse group, and we strive to further strengthen this culture, which supports all our colleagues.”