After facing a week of backlash over recently appointed Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich’s 2008 donation to the Proposition 8 campaign to ban gay marriage in California, the embattled executive is stepping down. Mozilla is best known for producing the popular Firefox web browser.
The announcement comes after three board members resigned over Eich’s appointment, employees publicly calling for his ouster and a mismanaged response to the controversy.
Per a statement by Mozilla’s Executive Chairwoman Mitchell Baker on the company’s blog today:
Mozilla prides itself on being held to a different standard and, this past week, we didn’t live up to it. We know why people are hurt and angry, and they are right: it’s because we haven’t stayed true to ourselves.
We didn’t act like you’d expect Mozilla to act. We didn’t move fast enough to engage with people once the controversy started. We’re sorry. We must do better.
Brendan Eich has chosen to step down from his role as CEO. He’s made this decision for Mozilla and our community.
psaunders@thegavoice.com | @patricksaunders
(photo via Huffington Post)