Hi
@imjenilynn , I hope you have this answer, do you know the actual story with Sean Thompson being let go from the Dis? What is the story there? I've always wondered that ever since it happened!
In truth, I don't have first-hand knowledge of Shaun's story. Pete was very quick to isolate him, eliminate him, and sweep the situation under the rug.
Me finding out about Shaun's termination is actually in the pre-roll of one of the episodes. I had been stuck in traffic and made it in time for the show by the skin of my teeth that day. Our audio was already live as I slipped into my seat, looked around the room, and said, "Where's Shaun?" Pete responded very abruptly and a bit curtly, "Shaun is not here." That was it. He didn't say more. The tone said enough.
In my opinion, Shaun was the very best of us. I mean that to the depths of my soul. He was so smart and well-spoken. My personal feeling is that he was the most talented person on the team. Additionally, his heart truly was golden, and he deserved so much better than what he got.
Pete framed him as lazy. He said that Shaun played around too much instead of finishing the development of the Universal Show's site. This was the story the team was given for his departure. I doubt any of us believed it. I know that I didn't.
When Shaun left, he really left. I think a number of us tried to reach out to him in spite of Pete. I know that I did. He didn't always respond, and when he did, it was brief. It was clear that communicating with us was uncomfortable for him (Craig was the exception). And the actual reason for Shaun's departure was kept very tight-lipped. It was a really long time before someone was willing to share what I believe to be the true story. And even then, I was given no detail. This was something no one wanted to talk about.
I am going to tread carefully here because this is not actually my story, and my understanding is that Shaun would like to erase himself from The Dis' history. I want to respect that. In the same breath, you should all know that it is most likely Shaun was fired for being noble and a true friend. I was told that at a time when Dustin seemed to be particularly struggling, Shaun offered support and communicated he would help if Dustin wanted it. When Pete found this out, Shaun was basically done. Pete only waited long enough to dig up a reason he felt he could use to justify getting rid of him.
That is all I will ever say about Shaun in this forum. I'm told he wants his time with The Dis to be forgotten. That doesn't seem possible because his goodness lived large in that cesspool, but I won't be speaking about him again in an attempt to help his story fall away.
Hi
@imjenilynn ,
I don't recall, what was the deal with Pete and JL and SeaWorld? Were one of them for SeaWorld and the other person was against them?
The story revolved around the fallout from Blackfish. If I recall this accurately, there was a branch of government that finally succeeded in banning SeaWorld's breeding practices for Orcas. It was one of the big stories that week. Pete ranted that this particular leg of government didn't have the authority to put this into law. I remember him saying something like, "And that is the real issue." Everyone was silent for a second or two. Then I spoke up and said something along the lines of, "Why is that the issue? That's not the issue for me. The issue for me is whether it is morally right to be breeding these creatures in captivity." I think Pete was a little shamed by my response--and that never went well for me off-camera--but it did open the door for the team to more comfortably participate in the discussion.
am stealing “yikes on bikes” from the one poster and adding it to my vernacular.
Looking forward to hearing your story and perspective!!
An attempt to get me to stop commenting on their PUBLICLY posted videos asking for some accountability? Truly baffling.