Aidan Louw once produced parts for Aston Martin F1 cars while employed there, but other coworkers subjected him to horrifying homophobic and racial insults
An ex-Aston Martin employee said that while making components for the Formula 1 team, coworkers made homophobic and racial slurs at him.
Aidan Louw Ex-Aston Martin F1 Employee Reveals He Was Called N**ger And Racially Abused By The Team, Racism Interview Video Goes Viral
this is disgusting fire the entire crew what the fuck?? @AstonMartinF1 @SkySportsF1 pic.twitter.com/xHp6qow6ST
— sof (@purplealbumm) July 15, 2022
A Formula 1 worker who was repeatedly called the n-word by colleagues at the Aston Martin F1 team has told Sky News more needs to be done to confront racism in motorsport.
Read the full exclusive interview: https://t.co/T0Orz4fMY2 pic.twitter.com/dgOH16AtDc
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 15, 2022
Aidan Louw, a contractor for the Silverstone-based team, told Sky News that he was targeted right away. He claimed that after disclosing a previous relationship with another guy, he was again called the n-word and subjected to additional harassment.
Louw, a laminator, claimed that she was told, “Look, if you’ve got a problem with how we speak here, it’s simply how we speak,” before he had even entered his workplace. The worker, who is from South Africa, appeared to be in tears as he described his ordeal.
When the major offender spoke up and referred to himself as a “brownie,” it all began. “On the second shift, it changed from “brownie” to “darkie,” so you can see how it started to get worse. None of those names was used to refer to me. I was called “brownie” and “n** n**,” respectively.
Louw claimed that the harassment from coworkers was ongoing and that he was called the n-word “hourly.” “I eventually processed what was going at the end of the length,” he continued.
Regarding the homophobic harassment, he continued, “Everything changed in one instant when I revealed to someone that I had a boyfriend when I was a teenager. They started trying to break me down as a man, as an individual, and as a human as soon as they learned about that tiny bit of information.”
Aston Martin has meanwhile issued a statement saying it strongly against any kind of discrimination, however the team is yet to clampdown on the perpetrators or take any action against them.