I don't think Don was homophobic either.
If he had been, when he saw Sal and the bellboy together through the hotel room, he'd have made up some pretext to fire him. Instead, all Don did was warn Sal on the flight home to "limit your exposure," and continued working with him.
I don't think Don cared what Sal or anyone else did, as long as it didn't get in the way of business.
The real problem was Lee Garner Jr was an awful man, a bully, and used to getting his way. Sal turned him down, in the most gracious way he could, while still protecting himself. But Lee Garner was embarrassed and angry at being turned down.
At the time Lucky Strike was 50 or more percent of their billings; he knew it, and used it. If Lee said jump, everyone asked how high. Even Roger once held his b@lls because that's what Lee wanted. Then there was the cringeworthy Roger-as-Santa scene.
Losing Lucky Strike could, and later almost did, kill the agency. Don probably thought Sal hadn't taken his advice to limit his exposure, but in any event Sal had said no to the one person no one at the agency was supposed to say no to. It was either Sal went, or they'd most certainly lose the account.
I didn't like the way Don handled it, because Sal had done nothing wrong, and it really was unfair. But, it was Lee Garner Jr. Had it being a lesser account, such as Mohawk or Butler Shoes, I very much doubt that would have happened.
I don't think Burt was racist, either. Burt was a consummate capitalist, and he didn't think having a black person at reception would be good for business. Was it pandering to clients who were racist? Yes.
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