When Netflix chief marketing officer Bozoma Saint John left her position at the company after less than two years, rumors swirled about her exit.
However, in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Saint John is setting the record straight about her exit.
Saint John said she found the entertainment space “exciting” and described Netflix as a “awesome place to work,” but felt she needed to pivot in her own life.
“If you’re doing something you love, fantastic, keep doing that … [but] there are other things that I want to accomplish,” she said. “You’ve got to know when the time is up and to keep it moving.”
She briefly touched upon what the future holds in the article, saying she’s currently taking a break but is excited by the multitude of things she wants to explore.
Upon Saint John’s exit from the streamer earlier this month, she said in a statement at the time: “I came to Netflix with a surplus of enthusiasm and creative energy, and am immensely proud of the campaigns we inspired that sparked global conversations. It’s been a transformative two-year experience for which I will always be grateful.”
However, afterward alleged reports of friction behind the scenes came to light. Some reports cited accusations she spent too much time promoting her personal brand much while on the job.
But Saint John was unapologetic, stating “I live out loud” in response to the criticism.
“In these spaces, there’s nothing about me that is like anybody else,” she said of being a Black women in high-profile marketing job. “I recognize that I’m going to be talked about and sometimes, I’m going to be talked about negatively because there’s not an understanding of where I’m coming from, the culture I represent, the ways that I am. And those things feel like friction,” she continued.
In fact, Saint John hopes moving forward there are more people who are different, wishing more people would take off their metaphorical masks. That way, she wouldn’t seem “so strange and so other.”
Saint John also quashed rumors she and Netflix boss Ted Sarandos fought over a potential move to Paris, adding a move to Paris didn’t come to fruition. “I tried and then we went into another lockdown so it didn’t make a lot of sense to be in Paris while being stuck at home,” Saint John told THR. “I have a 12-year-old daughter and it would be impossible to be able to manage all of that.”