Apple exec out for crude remarks

A viral video shows 22-year veteran Tony Blevins joking about fondling women.

One of Apple Inc.’s most senior executives is leaving after he turned up in a viral video making an off-color joke that he fondles “bigbreasted women” for a living.

In the video, published Sept. 5, Tony Blevins was approached by TikTok and Instagram creator Daniel Mac as part of a series in which he asks owners of expensive cars their occupations. The executive was stopped by Mac while parking a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, an out-of-production sports car that fetches hundreds of thousands of dollars.

When asked what he does for a living, Blevins said, “I have rich cars, play golf and fondle big-breasted women, but I take weekends and major holidays off.”

Blevins is Apple’s vice president of procurement and is in charge of striking deals with suppliers and partners. He recently worked on the company’s satellite agreement with Globalstar Inc., led negotiations over cellular modems with Qualcomm Inc. and Intel Corp., and has been in charge of driving down the costs of many critical parts that go into Apple’s mobile devices.

After an internal investigation into the matter, Blevins’ team — which included about half a dozen direct reports and several hundred employees — was removed from his command, according to people familiar with the situation.

Blevins, a 22-year veteran of Apple, confirmed the Aug. 18 incident to Bloomberg.

“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my mistaken attempt at humor,” he said.

An Apple spokesman said Thursday that Blevins is departing the Cupertino, Calif., company.

Blevins has been part of a roughly 100-person group of vice presidents at Apple and one of about 30 executives who report to Chief Executive Tim Cook or Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams. Williams has been Blevins’ boss for much of his career, according to the people.

It was Williams’ decision for the company and Blevins to part ways, one of the people said. The operating chief will oversee Blevins’ old team for now, according to the person.

The TikTok video was taken at a car show in Pebble Beach. Blevins’ remarks reference the 1981 movie “Arthur,” where main character Arthur Bach describes his own career: “I race cars, play tennis and fondle women, but I have weekends off and I am my own boss.”