Bay Area yoga teacher fired over boyfriend’s involvement with antisemitic website

Bay Area yoga teacher fired over boyfriend’s involvement with antisemitic website

A popular Bay Area yoga instructor was fired over the weekend because of her relationship with a Petaluma man who runs an antisemitic website and organization that the Anti-Defamation League said is responsible for “at least 74 antisemitic propaganda incidents,” including recent events in which antisemitic flyers were distributed in the Bay Area.

Jeff Renfro, who owns Hella Yoga and Funky Door Yoga in Berkeley and Yoga Hell in Petaluma, told The Chronicle he fired instructor Kelly Johnson over the weekend and terminated an agreement to sell one of the businesses to her because of the involvement of her boyfriend, Jon Minadeo Jr., in Goyim TV, a website that broadcasts antisemitic videos and other antisemitic activities.

A message announcing the firing was splashed across the colorful home pages for the Hella Yoga and Yoga Hell — reading “We are a firm believer in diversity and inclusion, due to recent activities brought to our attention Kelly Johnson is no longer affiliated with Hella Yoga Berkeley or Yoga Hell Petaluma.”

In a phone interview, Johnson told The Chronicle that she does not share her boyfriend’s beliefs and that she was hurt by her depiction as a racist.