Well, folks, leave it to a corporate CEO to step right into the middle of a national tragedy with a statement so polished, so focus-group-tested, and so utterly tone-deaf that it feels like it was cooked up in a crisis PR lab. Allstate CEO Tom Wilson, standing at the intersection of corporate branding and national heartbreak, decided this was the moment to lecture Americans about their supposed “addiction to divisiveness.”
Let’s pause for a moment and think about that. Just hours after a horrifying terrorist attack in New Orleans—an attack that claimed over a dozen lives, left countless families shattered, and bore the fingerprints of ISIS propaganda—Wilson thought the real takeaway was that we need to stop being so negative and learn to “accept people’s imperfections and differences.” Imperfections and differences? This wasn’t someone being rude in a grocery store line. This was an act of barbaric, premeditated violence carried out in cold blood.
And Americans noticed. The backlash on social media was swift and unforgiving, as customers and commentators took Wilson to task for what they saw as a weak, equivocating response to evil. Charlie Kirk called it out. Sean Davis from The Federalist suggested people cancel their policies. And everyday Americans—regular folks paying their premiums—made it clear they’d had enough.
A jihadist killed and maimed dozens of innocent Americans in a hate-fueled rampage, and the CEO of Allstate thinks Americans watching the Sugar Bowl need a lecture from him on overcoming “an addiction to divisiveness and negativity?”
Absolutely not!! pic.twitter.com/CuyOYoz1mg
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 2, 2025
Now, Allstate scrambled to do damage control, issuing a follow-up statement clarifying that Wilson “unequivocally condemns this heinous act of terrorism.” That’s good—because honestly, it shouldn’t have taken a social media firestorm for a Fortune 500 CEO to understand that terrorism isn’t an “imperfection.” It’s not something to be solved by corporate-sponsored community trust-building exercises.
The reality here is that Wilson’s statement wasn’t just poorly worded—it was emblematic of a larger corporate culture that’s become so obsessed with appearing “sensitive” and “inclusive” that it’s lost sight of moral clarity. There are moments in life—and certainly in leadership—where there is no room for nuance. This was one of them.
Meanwhile, the attack itself continues to reveal chilling details. An ISIS flag was reportedly found in the suspect’s vehicle. Analysts are warning that ISIS, weakened and cornered abroad, may be leaning harder than ever into its digital radicalization strategy, calling on lone wolves in the West to strike soft targets. Pro-ISIS outlets were openly urging attacks during the holiday season, and tragically, it seems someone answered that call on Bourbon Street.
Time to cancel @Allstate. Do you really want an insurance company that talks about murder and terrorism this way? https://t.co/GYy1W0eahB
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) January 2, 2025
And yet, instead of seizing the moment to deliver a message of clear-eyed resolve, Tom Wilson opted for corporate platitudes about “overcoming divisiveness.” It’s hard to imagine a more inappropriate response to a moment of national grief.
Look, there’s a time for healing, and there’s a time for unity—but healing requires honesty. Unity requires moral courage. Americans don’t want vague bromides from CEOs in polished boardrooms; they want leaders—whether in politics, business, or media—who will stand up, call evil by its name, and say unequivocally, “This will not stand.”
