Tony Blevins Apple Procurements chief ousted after TikTok sexist comments backlash. The executive is leaving the company as the tech outlet struggles with accusations it has a legacy of sexual harassment at the work place.
Maybe a simple ‘I make machines work faster,’ would have sufficed…
A top Apple executive is leaving the tech company following widespread backlash after making off handed comments on video about how he ‘fondles big-breasted women’ for a living.
Tony Blevins, Apple’s vice president of procurement, made the sexist remarks after he was approached by TikTok and Instagram creator Daniel Mac, who is known for asking people in fancy cars what they do for a living.
‘I have rich cars, play golf and fondle big-breasted women,’ Blevins said in the viral video as he exited his Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. ‘But I take weekends and holidays off.’
The clip was reportedly taken at a Pebble Beach, California car show on Aug. 18 and shared on social media in early September, where it has racked up more than 40,000 likes on Instagram and close to 142,000 likes on TikTok.
One of Apple’s most senior executives is leaving the company after he turned up in this viral video on TikTok
He said “I have rich cars, play golf and fondle big-breasted women”https://t.co/xBUPaVvKla pic.twitter.com/cotxfniLqr
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 29, 2022
Unbridled sexual harassment at the workplace?
Apple’s leadership caught wind of the remarks and an internal investigation was opened as Blevins was pulled from command of his team of hundreds of employees in supply chain operations, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
An Apple spokesperson confirmed to the business news outlet Thursday that Blevins was on his way out.
Blevins apologized for the raunchy remarks in a statement to Bloomberg.
‘I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my mistaken attempt at humor,’ he said.
Blevins was with the company for 22 years and one of about 30 execs to report directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook or COO Jeff Williams, Bloomberg reported.
The incident comes as the tech giant faces claims that it ignores claims of sexual harassment at nearly every level of operations. One recent report, based on interviews with over a dozen women who work or worked at the company, noted that Apple’s human resources department routinely fails to credit accusations of sexual harassment. The #AppleToo movement, organized by the company’s workers in both retail and corporate, argues that the company has a ‘culture of secrecy’ that protects bad actors from accountability. Until now.
