Emmet McDermott's documentary -- #1 on Netflix right now -- exposes Abercrombie & Fitch's racist view of beauty, which he says was illegally applied to the company's hiring and firing practices.
Emmet joined us Thursday on TMZ Live to discuss his docufilm, "White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch" ... which features former employees revealing a toxic workplace that emphasized thin, white beautiful people as their vision of "All-American."
We're not just talking about the models -- Emmet says the company would phase out employees who looked "off-brand." He puts it plainly ... if you weren't good-looking or white, you're out.
The company even had a certain way for their employees to look, eliminating things -- certain hairstyles and jewelry -- it deemed to be associated with other, non-white cultures.
Clearly, A&F had crossed some legal lines when it comes to hiring based on race ... and it's made efforts to turn that around.
The company's current CEO, Fran Horowitz, posted a statement after the doc dropped, saying “We’re focused on inclusivity – and continuing that transformation is our enduring promise to you, our community. Always Forward.”
While Horowitz defended the company, many users made their beliefs clear ... calling the apology "too little, too late."