The CEO of buzzy healthcare company Hims & Hers has walked back his praise for anti-Israel student protesters after his firm’s stock value plunged nearly $210 million in a single day after declaring he and other execs were “eager” to hire them.
Andrew Dudum took to Twitter on Sunday to “clarify” his prior comments, in which he urged student protesters last week to keep rallying amid a nationwide wave of violent and disruptive demonstrations at universities that have seen well over 2,000 people arrested.
“The last few days have been a disheartening reflection of just how divisive a time we live in. I’d like to clarify a few things because my words have been misconstrued by some,” the Hims & Hers boss tweeted.
“I, in no way condone nor support acts or threats of violence, antisemitism, or intimidation and there is absolutely no justification for violence on our campuses.
“Every student deserves to feel safe without fear of harm or being targeted for who they are. I am deeply saddened that my support for peaceful protest has been interpreted by some as encouraging violence, intimidation, or bigotry of any kind.”His apparent about-face came after the online sexual health and pharmaceutical company saw its stock plummet by 8% on Friday — from an opening price of $12.24 to $11.26.The market cap of the company opened at $2.62 billion and closed at $2.41 billion.
After the initial drop, the share price at Hims & Hers continued to slide in after-hours trading on Friday and Saturday.
Stocks were still down 8% before the markets opened Monday.
The decline came after Dudum had declared that companies would be happy to employ the disciplined protesters and encouraged them to apply at Hims and Hers.
“Moral courage > College degree,” Dudum, who is a Palestinian-American, had tweeted in support of the students.
“If you’re currently protesting against the genocide of the Palestinian people & for your university’s divestment from Israel, keep going. It’s working.
“There are plenty of companies & CEOs eager to hire you, regardless of university discipline,” Dudum added, alongside a link to job openings at his firm.
In his follow-up Twitter thread on Sunday, Dudum said he believes “deeply in the right for people to use their voices in peaceful protest to drive change.”
“This right is critical to our democracy and must be protected. Our world today is more just because students throughout history have courageously taken to their campuses and used their voices to force change,” he added.
“Generations of Americans have engaged in non-violent protest, and these movements have led to some of the most important changes in our country’s history.”
Dudum’s initial tone was markedly different from other CEOs who derided or vowed not hire student protesters.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp had blasted the protesters last week saying they should be shipped off to North Korea as part of an “exchange program” to give them perspective.
Meanwhile, Bill Ackman, head of Pershing Square Capital Management, was among first to publicly declare he wouldn’t hire students from Harvard who signed a letter allegedly blaming Israel for Hamas’ violent Oct. 7 attack.
