Benny Johnson Accused of Verbally Abusing Employees of Right Wing Influencer Company
Conservative influencer Benny Johnson has been accused being verbally “abusive” to contractors for Arsenal Media, a company which is known for producing viral political ads for conservatives. Johnson reportedly co-founded the company, but has since distanced himself from it.
The Verge published an exposé into the company behind some of 2020’s most viral campaign ads Wednesday. Arsenal, for example, produced this spot for former Baltimore Republican congressional candidate Kimberly Klacik.
This is the absolute model for Republican messaging in the inner city.
— Benny “Libs Of Tik Tok” Aficionado (@bennyjohnson) August 17, 2020
Klacik was not competitive in her race to represent Maryland’s 7th congressional district. But her ad, which Johnson helped create, attracted more than 13 million views on Twitter.
Former employees of the company told The Verge that Johnson bullied and verbally abused them:
Former employees describe Johnson bullying or humiliating staffers if video shoots or client work didn’t go as planned, often on the company’s internal Telegram chats. Johnson can be “very abusive, very toxic, screaming at people, like using profanity, vulgarity, making women cry, like pushing them to the edge,” one former worker said. “I hadn’t been screamed at like that since I was probably seven years old on the playground.”
In one incident, a source told The Verge that Johnson screamed at a female employee over the phone as she was boarding a flight to Las Vegas in September 2020 to attend a video shoot. Johnson’s issue with the employee is unclear, but he allegedly demanded that the staffer apologize to himself, his wife, and his newborn daughter.
A spokesperson for Johnson told the Verge the social media influencer is simply passionate about his work.
“Benny can be a tough director, there’s no question,” the person said. “That level of stress isn’t for everyone, but it’s also what has helped make Benny successful.”
The Verge report also noted other troubles for Arsenal, which is run by CEO Justin Cole. It cited a number of contractors who worked for Arsenal who said they did not get paid in a timely fashion.
One of those contractors, a man named Karl Slater, complained he couldn’t get paid for his work for Arsenal.
Slater said when he began working for Arsenal in May of 2021, he never filled out any tax documents. At year’s end, he was not sent a 1099 so he could file his taxes. Slater said that was the least of his worries.
The Verge reported: “Soon, the invoices had run up to $8,795, and they were still going unanswered. Slater issued a formal demand the next month and then took the issue to court, winning a judgment the following November.”
Other vendors, marketing professionals, and contractors complained of similar issues with the company.
Arsenal has produced viral ads for Klacik, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, St. Louis attorney Mark McCloskey and Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), to name a few.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional context regarding Benny Johnson’s relationship with Arsenal.
