David Tucker, son of renowned tenor Richard Tucker, has been removed from the Board of Directors of the Richard Tucker Foundation.

The foundation made the decision known in the following statement:

“The Richard Tucker Music Foundation condemns the hurtful and offensive comments made by one of our Board members, David Tucker. David has been removed from the Richard Tucker Foundation Board of Directors, effective immediately. David’s opinions do not align with the beliefs and mission of the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, a Foundation built on the legacy of a Jewish-American singer who sought to bridge religious and cultural differences.

The Foundation recognizes the need to find ways we can better apply core values of equality and inclusion across our organization and programs. We know that we can improve our auditions and awards process to create more equitable opportunities and increase diversity organization-wide. To this end, we are currently assembling a diversity advisory task force of artists and thought leaders to address these issues. We look forward to openly sharing our next steps and continuing to support the next generation of operatic talent.” – Jeffrey Manocherian, Chairman, and Barry Tucker, President, Richard Tucker Music Foundation Board of Directors

As previously reported, David Tucker made offensive comments on a Facebook message board with regards to a story about the actions taken by the federal government against Black Lives Matter protestors in Portland, Oregon. His statements were of racist nature, causing general uproar throughout the opera community.

The Black Opera Alliance formally penned an open letter asking for immediate actions from the Foundation, including the removal of David Tucker.