John Legere, the controversial T-Mobile CEO, lived up to his reputation at a Wednesday press event for his company.
While discussing his competitors — specifically, AT&T and Verizon — he went a bit overboard.
“These high and mighty duopolists that are raping you for every penny you have… the f—— hate you,” he said.
Not exactly what you would expect from the mouth of a company head, but then, if you knew John Legere, it probably wouldn’t surprise you.
Here’s a compilation of some of his greatest hits as compiled by The Verge . (Definitely Not Safe For Work!)
Legere typically doesn’t care how the media or those in his industry perceive his tirades. In an interview with Business Insider , he said he does it to connect with his customers.
“I don’t walk closely up against the line. I ignore it. It’s who I am,” he told BI . “I may be a little rough and crude, but I’m much more like my customers and employees than I am an executive. I think employees relate to the way I speak, customers relate to exactly the way I think and talk. And it’s who I am.”
Still, it didn’t take long for the web community to take him to task. BI ‘s Steve Kovach said of the comments: “Legere may say he likes to ignore the line, but this is one instance where he probably should have paid attention.”
Sure enough, on Thursday, the T-Mobile CEO issued an apology via Twitter:
“The drawback to having no filter when I speak… sometimes I need a filter. Genuinely apologize to those offended last night”
While it’s certainly easy to understand where John Legere is coming from in going after AT&T and Verizon so hard — and I say that as an AT&T customer — such hyperbole can certainly rub some the wrong way, especially if they’ve ever been the victim of an actual rape.
By apologizing so quickly, he’s taking the right step, even though some on Reddit weren’t sure he even should have.
“I’m still with Verizon but honestly John Legere is exactly what the telecom industry needs right now,” wrote one Redditor . “I think we should support him and people who do speak their mind as much as we speak out on things we are against,” wrote another.
Do you think John Legere went too far with his rape comment? And should he have apologized? Share your thoughts in our comments section.
[Image via Flickr Creative Commons ]