Tony
Blevins, Apple’s vice president of procurement, will be leaving the company,
Bloomberg reported Thursday. Blevins’ departure comes in the wake of a scandal
after a video surfaced on social media that showed the senior Apple executive
saying he fondles big-breasted women for a living. The scandal has led to Blevins
deciding that he wanted to quit the technology major where he had worked for 22
years and reported directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook and
Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jeff Williams.
Inside
Tony Blevins’ video scandal:
Tony
Blevins has a reputation has a cost cutter. When he first joined Apple in 2000,
he was reputed to bring things for the ‘lowest price’. At the time, his job was
to get everyday things for the company, including, but not limited to toilet
paper. As the vice president of production, Blevins was said to be a tough
candidate who would not relent to suppliers.
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The video
that was the Apple executive’s undoing was shot by social media content creator
Daniel Mac. Mac was at a car show shooting a video asking people driving
expensive cars what they did for a living. When Tony Blevins came in in his
Mercedes-Benz SLR Mc Laren, an out-of-production sports car, Mac approached him
and asked what he did for a living.
The answer
Blevins gave has haunted his professional life since the video was published on
September 5. “I have rich cars, play golf and fondle big-breasted women, but I
take weekends and major holidays off,” Blevins says.
Why does
Blevins say what he says?
Tony Blevins
remark is drawn from a 1981 Hollywood film named Arthur. Arthur, directed by
Steve Gordon, is about a drunken millionaire on the brink of an arranged
marriage to a wealthy heiress but falls in love with a working-class girl.
Dudley Moore plays Arthur Bach, the protagonist.
Also Read | Top Apple executive Tony Blevins to leave company after TikTok video scandal
One of the
most famous dialogues of the film is when Arthur Bach is asked what he does for
a living. The Bach character says: “I race cars, play tennis and fondle women,
but I have weekends off and I am my own boss.”
This is the
dialogue Tony Blevins sought to reiterate when he was asked what he did for a
living.
Blevins later said the video was shot on August
18. “I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologise to anyone who
was offended by my mistaken attempt at humour,” he added.