22-year Apple executive forced out after making crude comment
Apple executive Tony Blevins, the company's vice president of procurement, is leaving the firm after making a crude comment on TikTok. Blevins was asked what he does for a living by Daniel Mac who creates content on TikTok and Instagram. Mac is known for asking that question to people who are driving expensive cars and Blevins was behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The car is reportedly valued at $500,000.
Blevins' response is what got him into trouble as the executive answered, "I have rich cars, play golf, and fondle big-breasted women. But I take weekends and holidays off." It is believed that the video was recorded at a car show in California on August 18th and was shared on social media early in September. The 25-second clip has 40,000 likes on Instagram and close to 142,000 likes on TikTok. It has been viewed more than 1.4 million times.
After Apple heard what happened, the company started an internal investigation during which Blevins lost command of his team which was made up of hundreds of Apple employees. An Apple spokesman told Bloomberg that Blevins was leaving Apple. He did make a statement in which he apologized for the comment. "I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my mistaken attempt at humor," Blevins said.
@itsdanielmac Quite the occupation this man has ️ #mercedesbenz#supercarstiktok#slr#car♬ original sound - DANIEL MAC
He was forced out at Apple after spending 22 years with the Cupertino-based company which means that he worked at the tech giant before it introduced the iPhone in 2007. Bloomberg's report noted that Blevins was one of 30 top Apple executives who report directly to CEO Tim Cook or COO Jeff Williams. His job included negotiating with suppliers to keep their prices low and he also worked with contract manufacturers like Foxconn, Pegatron, and other third-party firms that manufacture Apple products.
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