Rap Genius cofounder Mahbod Moghadam has resigned after posting a series of callous annotations to the manifesto of USCB mass shooter Elliit Rodgers. Rogers killed 6 and injured 12 others over the Memorial Day weekend; and his entire chilling 140 page document was posted on Rap Genius along with comments from Moghadam.
First reposted and documented by Gawker, many of the annotations simply added information like names and locations. But several annotations drew particularly strong criticism. Moghadam dubbed Rodger's manifesto "beautifully written" and "artful." In another, he called the killer's sister "smokin hot."
After social media and the web exploded with criticism, Moghadam posted, "I got carried away with making the annotations and making any comment about his sister was in horrible taste… Thankfully the Rap Genius community edits out my poor judgement, I am very sorry for writing it."
Rap Genius Responds
Today the company responded. Co-founder and CEO Tom Lehman said Moghadam's annotations exhibited "gleeful insensitivity and misogyny."
"In light of this, Mahbod has resigned – both in his capacity as an employee of the company, and as a member of our board of directors, effective immediately," wrote Lehman.
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