Apple VP Departs After ‘Fondle’ Remarks On TikTok Video: Report

The executive is leaving his leadership position after an internal investigation into a TikTok video made back in August at a car show.

Tony Blevins, Apple’s vice president of procurement, is leaving the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech behemoth after he made crude comments in a TikTok video that went viral, according to Bloomberg.

“I have rich cars, play golf and fondle big-breasted women,” Blevins said in the video posted by TikTok creator Daniel Mac. “But I take weekends and holidays off.”

According to Bloomberg, the clip was taken at a California car show on Aug. 18 and shared on TikTok in early September, getting more than 40,000 Instagram likes and close to 142,000 on TikTok. Blevins was stopped by Mac, who has gained social media traction with similar clips featuring expensive car owners, while parking a Mercedes-Bens SLR McLaren worth around $500,000.

Blevins also joked that he has a “hell of a dental plan.”

Blevins’ remarks reference a line from the 1981 movie Arthur, according to Bloomberg.

Sources told Bloomberg that Apple launched an internal investigation after the video surfaced, and Blevins’ team was “removed from his command.” An Apple spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg that Blevins was leaving the company.

CRN has reached out for further comment.

Blevins apologized for the remarks in a statement to Bloomberg: “I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my mistaken attempt at humor.”

The sexually charged comment contrasts with Apple CEO Tim Cook’s recent BBC interview during which he said there are still “not enough women at the table” at the world’s top tech firms and that there were “no good excuses” for the lack of women in the sector.

The Wall Street Journal called Blevins Apple’s “chief cost cutter” in a 2020 feature story. Sources told Bloomberg that he has been a key executive with connections to get access to core technologies before competitors. Bloomberg said the clip had been circulating and causing uproar among Apple staff and key suppliers.