‘Hate is a cancer’: Apple CEO Tim Cook sends a message to employees after Charlottesville violence

In the wake of the deadly protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, Apple CEO Tim Cook emailed employees to say “hate is a cancer” and that the company would be making US$1 million donations to two civil rights groups, according to BuzzFeed News.

“The events of the past several days have been deeply troubling for me, and I’ve heard from many people at Apple who are saddened, outraged or confused,” Cook wrote. “What occurred in Charlottesville has no place in our country.”

“We must not witness or permit such hate and bigotry in our country, and we must be unequivocal about it,” Cook said. “This is not about the left or the right, conservative or liberal. It is about human decency and morality.”

Cook also appeared to take exception to President Donald Trump’s response to the protests: “I disagree with the president and others who believe that there is a moral equivalence between white supremacists and Nazis, and those who oppose them by standing up for human rights. Equating the two runs counter to our ideals as Americans,” Cook’s email read.

“We’ve seen the terror of white supremacy & racist violence before. It’s a moral issue - an affront to America. We must all stand against it,” Cook tweeted Monday.

Following Trump’s controversial statements on the violence, his biggest gathering of business leaders also fell apart.