An Apple executive who made what he called a “mistaken attempt at humor” is losing his job over what he said in a TikTok video.
Tony Blevins, the former vice president of procurement at Apple, became a TikTok sensation on Sept. 5 when a video clip showed his response to a question from TikTok and Instagram creator Daniel Mac, according to Bloomberg.
Asked what he did for a living, Blevins — sitting in a pricey car — said, “I have rich cars, play golf and fondle big-breasted women, but I take weekends and major holidays off.”
He added that he has a “hell of a dental plan.”
The joke fell flat as it made the rounds at Apple, where an internal investigation was launched.
Bloomberg reported that chief operating officer Jeff Williams made the decision for Apple and Blevins to part ways.
On Thursday, an Apple representative confirmed to CNBC what Bloomberg was reporting, saying, “Tony is leaving Apple.”
Blevins told Bloomberg that the Aug. 18 comment was a mistake.
WARNING: Some viewers will find the following video offensive.
Apple’s Tony Blevins is leaving after making crude remarks in a TikTok video.
Below is the video: pic.twitter.com/k3BapC7D0z
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) September 29, 2022
“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my mistaken attempt at humor,” he said.
Bloomberg noted that the comment that cost Blevins his job was similar to one from the 1981 movie “Arthur,” in which the title character says, “I race cars, play tennis and fondle women, but I have weekends off and I am my own boss.”
In an Op-Ed in the New York Post, Kirsten Fleming ripped the decision to force out Blevins.
“It would seem that the good folks who made my iPhone not only lack a general appreciation for good cinema but have quite a shortcoming in the grace department,” she wrote, adding, “Beyond the gross overreaction, canning top talent over a harmless pop culture reference is a bizarre path to innovation for the world’s top tech company.”
“Blevins was clearly parodying an already outrageous fictional character, but that doesn’t matter. A scold mentality has infested corporate America, turning us into tattletale, PC robots more interested in unearthing microaggressions than doing an effective job.”
Fleming said society contradicts itself.
“We praise the libertines one day and yell at others to be prudes the next. The pearl-clutching is schizophrenic at best,” she wrote.
Be the first to comment