BET.com’s former executive editor, Andreas Hale, had some harsh words for his employer after quitting just shy of his one-year anniversary on the job. In a withering e-mail to friends and colleagues yesterday, Hale writes: “Although I was hired to bring about change, I was systematically shut down. I wasn’t hired to make noise, I was hired to be silenced.” He continues, “The unprofessionalism, the tomfoolery, the favors, the misappropriation of resources, the bad ideas that reinforce negative stereotypes, the emasculation of men, the meetings that break down in full-fledged cursing battles, the unpaid overtime, the tears from employees scared for their underpaid and overworked positions and ultimately the unwillingness to change are all harsh realities that I’ve witnessed firsthand.” He later declared on his Twitter account, “The shackles of Amistad have been broken.” BET didn’t respond to a request for comment.