Due to the viral content, TikTok has become one of the most widely used social media sites in recent years. The most recent reports claim that Apple Vice President Tony Blevins has been dismissed for making a lewd joke in a popular TikTok video.
Daniel Mac, the founder of TikTok and Instagram, contacted Blevins about his series in which he asks luxury automobile owners about their professions. The CEO was parking a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren valued at hundreds of millions of dollars when Mac approached him.
The video, released on September 5, shows Blevins answering the question, “What do you do for a living?”
“I have rich cars, play golf, and fondle big-breasted women; I take weekends and major holidays,” he added. Blevins also referenced his “hell of a dental plan,” which he will surely lose.
The video received over 40,000 Instagram likes and 1.3 million TikTok views. Some workers from Apple’s operations and procurement divisions, which Blevins leads as vice president, saw the video.
The employees notified Apple’s human resources department, which launched an inquiry. The video was also shared with Apple staff and key suppliers.
Blevins’ boss for most of his 22-year tenure at the firm has been Jeff Williams, the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Williams apparently decided that Blevins had to leave and is now filling his shoes.
Blevins acknowledged the event in a statement to Bloomberg, stating that it occurred on August 18.
“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my mistaken attempt at humor,” he said.
During his time at Apple, Blevins, popularly called “The Blevinator,” led discussions with Qualcomm and Intel over cellular modems, lowering the cost of critical components in Apple’s devices. In addition, he recently assisted Apple with its satellite partnership with Globalstar.
Blevins was described in a 2020 report as a tenacious and often brutal negotiator who would go to any length to secure Apple a favorable agreement.