Apple exec fired after being caught on video joking about 'fondling big-breasted women' says he stayed up all night trying to get the TikTok down before it went viral
itsdanielmac/TikTok
- Former Apple exec Tony Blevins said he spent all night trying to get rid of a TikTok in which he made a crude joke.
- In the video, he made comments about fondling "big-breasted women."
- Apple fired Blevins over the video in September, after he'd been with the company for 22 years.
Former Apple executive Tony Blevins told The Wall Street Journal that he spent all night trying to take down a TikTok featuring him making a crude comment. The tech company, he said, reached out at 1:30 a.m. about the video, insisting he get it taken down immediately.
"I race cars, play golf, and fondle big-breasted women. But I take weekends and major holidays off," Blevins says in the TikTok, which shows him getting out of his Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren — a supercar that can cost upwards of $500,000.
The video, which was first posted in September, ultimately cost Blevins his career at Apple.
The former vice president of procurement, who had worked at Apple had for over 22 years, was fired days after it was posted. Bloomberg was the first to report that Blevins had left the company.
"It was 22 years dissolved in about 25 seconds," Blevins told The Journal. "It utterly shocked me. My whole life has been Apple. I tried to be the most loyal person," he added.
A spokesperson for Apple did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication. Insider was unable to get in contact with Blevins.
The TikTok video was posted by a TikTok creator known as Daniel Mac as part of a series where he asks people with expensive cars what they do for a living.
Blevins told The Journal that before his employment was terminated in September, an Apple executive reached out and told him to get the video taken down as soon as possible, saying some staff had already complained about the TikTok. Blevins said he spent the entire night after the video was posted trying to get in contact with Mac to get it taken down, but didn't receive a reply.
Mac did not respond to a request for comment from Insider ahead of publication. The TikToker has 13.6 million followers, and his video of Blevins has received over 200,000 likes to date.
At the time of his termination, Blevins apologized for the video and explained that his statement was a reference to the 1981 film "Arthur." He told the Journal that he thinks his axing was a mistake and a sign of the company bowing to external pressure.
After he was fired, Apple executives planned a going-away party for Blevins, but the former executive said the event was eventually cancelled, The Journal reported. Blevins also told the publication he was let go without severance.
He has not yet been replaced.
Read the full story on The Journal's website.