Bozoma Saint John Leaves Endeavor, Joins Netflix as CMO

Bozoma Saint John is stepping down as CMO for Endeavor to take the same position with Netflix.

Saint John replaces Jackie Lee-Joe, who is leaving the company after less than a year on the job for personal reasons, an individual with knowledge of the move told TheWrap. Lee-Joe has been with her family in Australia since the coroanvirus pandemic began.

“Bozoma Saint John is an exceptional marketer who understands how to drive conversations around popular culture better than almost anyone. As we bring more great stories to our members around the world, she’ll define and lead our next exciting phase of creativity and connection with consumers,” said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer.

Also Read: Endeavor Secures $260 Million Loan Amid Cost-Cutting Measures

Added Saint John: “I’m thrilled to join Netflix, especially at a time when storytelling is critical to our global, societal well-being. I feel honored to contribute my experience to an already dynamic legacy, and to continue driving engagement in the future.”

Saint John, who has also also held marketing roles with Uber, Apple Music and Pepsi-Cola North America, becomes the latest major executive to leave Endeavor. In June, WME lost partner and Worldwide Head of Music Marc Geiger and talent agent Sean Grumman. Grumman, who had risen to partner in its talent department, left to spearhead Verve’s new talent division. Duncan Millership also left the agency in May for Anonymous Content.

George Freeman, a partner and senior vice president of talent at WME whose clients included Russell Crowe, Kenneth Branagh, and Dennis Quaid, was fired earlier this month after sending an inappropriate email to multiple people within the company.

Endeavor has also been hit hard financially by the coronavirus pandemic, which came a few months after pulling its IPO. In May, WME laid off or furloughed about 20% of its workforce.

Deadline was first to report on Saint John’s move from Endeavor to Netflix.

16 White Actors Miscast in Nonwhite Roles, From Mickey Rooney to Emma Stone (Photos)

Katharine Hepburn in "Dragon Seed" (1944)
Caucasian Hepburn played a Chinese woman in this big-screen adaptation of the Pearl S. Buck novel.
MGM
Marlon Brando in "The Teahouse of the August Moon" (1956)
Brando starred as an Okinawan translator for the U.S. Army in this comedy about the American occupation of the island nation.
MGM
John Wayne in "Conquerer" (1956)
Wayne was cast as Mongol conquerer Genghis Khan in what's considered by many to be one of the worst films of all time.
RKO Radio Pictures
Charlton Heston in "Touch of Evil" (1958)
Heston starred as Ramon Miguel Vargas in the 1958 crime film, a Mexican narcotics officer.
Universal
Mickey Rooney in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961)
More caricature than character, Rooney starred as the buck-toothed, Japanese Mr. Yunioshi in the 1961 film, which has faced volumes of criticism since.
Paramount Pictures
Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" (1961)
Wood plays a Puerto Rican teenager in the 1961 musical film, although she was Russian-American in real life.
United Artists
Laurence Olivier in "Othello" (1965)
Not only did the white actor play a Moor in 1965's "Othello," he did so while wearing blackface.
Warner Bros.
Al Pacino in "Scarface" (1983)
Pacino plays a Cuban gangster in the 1983 film, and many criticized his over-the-top accent as offensive.
Universal
Anthony Hopkins in "Mask of Zorro" (1998)
Welsh actor Hopkins starred as the Spanish Zorro, a.k.a. Don Diego de la Vega, in the 1998 film.
Tristar
Rob Schneider in "50 First Dates" (2004)
Schneider seems to play a different ethnicity in every Adam Sandler movie. In "The Waterboy" he was the "You can do it!" guy, in "Big Daddy," he was a Middle-Eastern deliveryman, and in "50 First Dates," he plays a native Hawaiian. Badly.
Columbia Pictures
Mike Myers in "The Love Guru" (2008)
Myers played an Indian-American guru in the roundly panned movie, in which he dressed up a lot of racist jokes in a terrible accent.

See Video: Mike Myers Was ‘Super Proud’ Standing Next to Kanye West When He Dissed George W. Bush
Paramount
Every character from "21" (2008)
The movie follows a group of math students who come up with a card counting strategy to win big in Vegas. While the movie had a predominantly white cast, the real life MIT students were all Asian-American.
Sony
Jake Gyllenhaal in "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010)
Gyllenhaal plays a Middle-Eastern prince in the film, which many called "insulting" and "the perfect example of whitewashing."

Also Read: Jake Gyllenhaal in Talks to Join Benedict Cumberbatch in ‘The Current War’
Disney
Johnny Depp in "Lone Ranger" (2013)
Like Mara, Johnny Depp played a Native American in Disney's film, which sparked outrage among fans and critics despite the actor's claims that his great-grandmother had mostly Cherokee blood.

Also Read: Disney CFO: ‘Lone Ranger’ Flop Shows Non-Franchise Movies Need to Cost Less
Disney
Rooney Mara in "Pan" (2015)
Mara was cast as Tiger Lily, a Native American, in the 2015 film based on the Peter Pan story.

Also Read: Rooney Mara in Negotiations to Play Tiger Lily in Warner Bros.’ ‘Pan’
Warner Bros.
Emma Stone in "Aloha" (2015)
Stone played a Chinese/Swedish/Hawaiian woman in this critically and commercially disappointing Cameron Crowe romantic comedy.

Also Read: Cameron Crowe Apologizes for Emma Stone’s Asian ‘Aloha’ Character: ‘Was Based on a Real-Life, Red-Head Local’
Sony