Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
- Goya CEO Robert Unanue now needs board permission to speak to the media, The New York Post and CNN reported.
- Its board voted to silence him on Friday, two days after he told Fox News the presidential election was “unverified,” the reports said.
- Unanue confirmed to The Post that he would no longer speak publicly about politics, but declined to comment on any vote.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Robert Unanue, CEO of Latino food brand Goya Foods, will no longer be able to speak to the media without permission from the company’s board, after he peddled baseless claims of voter fraud on Fox News.
Goya’s nine-person board voted to silence the CEO on Friday, sources close to the matter told both The New York Post and CNN. The ban covers discussion about both politics and the company itself, a person familiar with the board’s actions told CNN.
The majority of the company’s shareholders were in favor of completely removing Unanue, the source said, but weren’t able to because of the dynamics of the company, which has been owned by the same family for three generations.
Read more: Trump’s business recovering may depend on him apologizing to Americans
The board agreed to the censure because of remarks Unanue made to the media following the January 6 siege of the US Capitol, including telling Fox Business that the election was “unverified,” the sources said.
Speaking to Maria Bartiromo on January 20, just hours before President Joe Biden's inauguration, he said that Big Tech, the media, and the government had "usher[ed] in the dawn of a new world order, this great reset, with an unverified election."
"The big prize is the United States," he added.
Unanue also spoke out against social media censorship, and warned of an impending "war."
"They didn't go after just President Trump, they're after us now, the 80 million people who voted for him, and also all of the people in the United States, with very few having control over our speech, our work, our religion," he said.
"There is a war coming. Now that the president is leaving today, they're still coming after the United States, the working class."
Read more: CEOs are steering clear of Fox News' Maria Bartiromo and denying her interviews, sources say
Unanue confirmed to The Post that he would no longer speak publicly about politics, but declined to comment on the board's vote.
"Independently, I've made the decision to lower the temperature and walk away from speaking about politics and religion," Unanue told the publication. "I realize it's important because of the diverse views of the company and our market."
Insider has contacted Goya for comment.
The Goya bean boycott
Over the course of 2020, Unanue hit the public limelight over his support for Trump and his claims of election fraud.
On July 9, Unanue praised Trump at a White House event to celebrate a new initiative aimed at improving opportunity for Hispanic Americans, saying the country was "truly blessed" to have Trump as a leader. Users quickly took to social media to slam the CEO, with some saying they would boycott his company's products.
Former presidential candidate Julián Castro said Goya's products had been "a staple of so many Latino households for generations."
"Now their CEO, Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain. Americans should think twice before buying their products," he said.
—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 10, 2020
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also spoke out, saying that she would instead make her own seasoning.
Trump supporters, including Fox News personalities, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and Ivanka Trump, hit back, urging people to stock up on the products. One even launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to buy and donate Goya products to food pantries in the D.C. area.
In December, Unanue called Ocasio-Cortez "employee of the month" on a podcast, claiming that the congresswoman's criticism of the brand had actually increased sales.
"We never got to hand it to her, but she got employee of the month for bringing attention to Goya and our Adobo," he said.
"When she boycotted us, our sales actually increased 1,000%," Unanue added. "Our Adobo sales did very well after she said 'make your own Adobo.'"
Do you work at Goya and have a tip you want to share? Contact Grace Dean via email ([email protected]). Always use a non-work email.