T-Mobile’s foulmouthed chief executive may finally want to bite his tongue.
During an expletive-laced presentation at a company event on Wednesday, CEO John Legere compared the prices of rivals AT&T and Verizon to rape, infuriating many who felt he had finally taken his hyperbole too far.
“These high and might duopolists that are raping you for every penny you have, if they could do something nice for you they would,” he said on stage at Seattle's Paramount Theatre. “The fuckers hate you.”
He apologized on Thursday afternoon:
Legere was discussing marketing ploys by AT&T and Verizon, which together share about 60 percent of the U.S. mobile market.
You can see for yourself at around 1:12 in the video below:
The remark stirred anger, not at T-Mobile's competitors, but at Legere:
T-Mobile spokeswoman Tolena Thorburn declined to comment about the remark except to direct The Huffington Post to Legere's tweet and a video replay of the event on the company’s website.
Legere has a history of bashing his rivals, but he seems particularly peeved about Amazon's decision to exclusively offer its new Fire Phone on AT&T's network.
Known for his off-the-cuff style, Legere has long swapped the decorum exercised by most executives for language that may help him seem real and accessible.
In this case, he might have gone too far.
This post has been updated with Legere's apology.
[H/T Business Insider]
During an expletive-laced presentation at a company event on Wednesday, CEO John Legere compared the prices of rivals AT&T and Verizon to rape, infuriating many who felt he had finally taken his hyperbole too far.
“These high and might duopolists that are raping you for every penny you have, if they could do something nice for you they would,” he said on stage at Seattle's Paramount Theatre. “The fuckers hate you.”
He apologized on Thursday afternoon:
I know I have an Rated R vocabulary, but even I can go too far. Sincere apologies to anyone offended last night
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) June 19, 2014Legere was discussing marketing ploys by AT&T and Verizon, which together share about 60 percent of the U.S. mobile market.
You can see for yourself at around 1:12 in the video below:
The remark stirred anger, not at T-Mobile's competitors, but at Legere:
@TMobile explain CEO Legere's comments that compared corporate tactics to rape? Or you gonna play the silent game?
— Matthew the ΚΚΨ Jedi (@blacksaber1993) June 19, 2014@BloombergNews I'm sick of this. Both the "Carrier war" and the casual tossing around of "rape". I have @TMobile but their CEO makes me ill.
— Keri Imrisek (@KeriImrisek) June 19, 2014"@TIME: T-Mobile's CEO: AT&T and Verizon are 'raping you' http://t.co/xBsxgRR3cf" here we go with the rape comparisons. Smh. Jackass.
— كلا (@thirdeyesquints) June 19, 2014T-Mobile spokeswoman Tolena Thorburn declined to comment about the remark except to direct The Huffington Post to Legere's tweet and a video replay of the event on the company’s website.
Legere has a history of bashing his rivals, but he seems particularly peeved about Amazon's decision to exclusively offer its new Fire Phone on AT&T's network.
Let's hope @amazon doesn't fall victim to the @att curse that is the facebook phone. #onemonth
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) June 17, 2014Known for his off-the-cuff style, Legere has long swapped the decorum exercised by most executives for language that may help him seem real and accessible.
In this case, he might have gone too far.
This post has been updated with Legere's apology.
[H/T Business Insider]