Ashton Kutcher Defends Uber In Ranting Tweets Amid Bad Press
Ashton Kutcher is a busy guy — he’s the star of Two and A Half Men, a new father, and a very disgruntled investor in Uber. Uber is just one of dozens of companies Kutcher has helped fund through his A Grade Investment company.
Right now, Uber isn’t receiving the best of press due to many incidents. Recently the Inquisitr reported about a cancer patient receiving horrible texts from a now-terminated driver after she cancelled a ride. This is just the tip of the iceberg for Uber.
Currently Uber’s senior vice president Emil Michael is doing his best to cover his tracks after making remarks about digging up personal information on journalists who write negative stories about the company.
The initial story about Michael’s comments broke when a BuzzFeed reporter, Michael Wolff, reported on the conversation he overheard. During a dinner party Michael suggested the company spends “a million dollars” to hire opposition researchers to look into the personal and private lives of journalists. His initial comments came after tech site Pando Daily’s Sarah Lacy criticized the company.
Since this information has been leaked, people are responding negatively to Michael’s actions. Kutcher, no longer standing silent, took to Twitter to air out his thoughts on the current state of journalism.
Immediately Kutcher received flak for his views.
What is so wrong about digging up dirt on shady journalist? @pando @TechCrunch @Uber
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
@aplusk @RussADeCastro Saying that we are all public figures doesn’t make it so. Reporters who become public figures are no longer reporters
— ALANMILNER (@AlanMilner) November 19, 2014
I believe we live in a day were the first word has become “the word”
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
Rumors span the globe before anyone has an opportunity to defend them selves.
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
Everyone is guilty and then tasked to defend themselves publicly.
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
Questioning the source needs to happen… Always!
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
So as long as journalist are interested and willing to print half truths as facts… Yes we should question the source.
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
As his rant went on, others defended the journalists in question.
@aplusk Question their work, fine. But doxxing someone because they said something you don’t like, and which has no bearing on the convo…
— Josh (@zigziggityzoo) November 19, 2014
@aplusk And threatening their family??????????
— Jérôme (@jeromegv) November 19, 2014
@aplusk this means questioning the sources in the stories or where a rumor emanated from, not digging up dirt in journalists. Big difference
— Catherine (@shaketini) November 19, 2014
To be clear I speak for my self not @Uber
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
This should be fun… Here comes the part where journalist explain why they should be exempt from ridicule and judgement and probing…
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
After a while, Kutcher decided to give up on trying to speak out.
U r all right and I’m on the wrong side of this ultimately. I just wish journalists were held to the same standards as public figures.
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
Kutcher dedicated one last thought to the situation before signing off of Twitter.
#GoodForRatings #TrafficSpike #WelcomeToShockJournalism
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
As it stands, Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick has apologized on behalf of Michael.
“Emil’s comments at the recent dinner party were terrible and do not represent the company. His remarks showed a lack of leadership, a lack of humanity, and a departure from our values and ideals. His duties here at Uber do not involve communications strategy or plans and are not representative in any way of the company approach.”
“We are up to the challenge to show that Uber is and will continue to be a positive member of the community. And furthermore, I will do everything in my power towards the goal of earning that trust. I believe that folks who make mistakes can learn from them — myself included. and that also goes for Emil…”
To read the full statement, click here.
[Image via 360b / Shutterstock.com]
