13 ms·

Elizabeth Holmes' PR campaign continues

41 points by smgit 2y ago

prepend 2y ago
I’ve seen TikTok videos of her recently and was wondering about why as she’s not famous or talented. I think it’s bad that she defrauded so many people but still has massive enough cash that she’s paying a PR firm while she’s in prison. So the lesson here is to suck, lie, and be a mean person and you still walk away with cash. If she ends up launching a Gwyneth Paltrow-type style brand after release, I’m going to weep a little bit.
- kasperni 2y ago
  > I think it’s bad that she defrauded so many people but still has massive enough cash that she’s paying a PR firm while she’s in prison. Pretty sure she doesn't have any money herself as she has been declared insolvent. However, her husbond is heir to 3 luxury hotels. And she doesn't come from a poor background either.
- BoxFour 2y ago
  > wondering about why It’s likely a mix of several things: 1. Society’s fascination with “big crime”, especially fraud—figures like Frank Abagnale, Anna Delvey, Jordan Belfort, and obviously Holmes herself have all been turned into popular films or TV series. 2. She has a knack for “branding” and generating a cult of personality, even if (maybe because) her ethics are nonexistent. 3. She seems to have landed on some financial stability through her spouse, which I’m sure is being used in small amounts for things like this. 4. In a strange way, she appears eager to redeem herself. An ethical person might do this through charity or similar means, but for her, being seen as a “titan of industry” likely equates to redemption. Your observation isn’t off—I wouldn’t be surprised if she launches some kind of lifestyle brand after her release.
  - plagiarist 2y ago
    > An ethical person might do this through charity or similar means, but for her, being seen as a “titan of industry” likely equates to redemption. She knows what country she is in, at least.
- belter 2y ago
  Her life is like a Hallmark movie: Convicted to prison, meets a 10 years younger partner just on time, and surprise, surprise, he happens to be a Hotel chain heir... :-)
- 1vuio0pswjnm7 2y ago
  "So the lesson here is to suck, lie, and be a mean person and you still walk away with cash." Only a person who themselves exhibits those qualities or someone cynical to the point of foolishness would conclude that is the lesson. Nothing indicates that walking away with cash cannot be achieved without sucking, lying and being mean. The lesson is that a person who does what Holmes did may get caught and may suffer consequences. She has two young kids. She sits in prison as they grow up.
anshumankmr 2y ago
She is doing her part in improving healthcare for everyone. Which is to do nothing and stay in jail.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
dijit 2y ago
I'm always dubious when it comes to hagiographies of individuals in media. It feels good for someone else to point it out, since in this case it really rings hollow for basically everyone. Why should we humanise and care about someone who was a terrible boss, a terrible fraudster and a bare-face liar. What endeavours were not financed because of her? Who's career was torpedoed and who was stolen away from noble causes because of her lies? Taking some accountability is rare, she should, and we don't have to applaud her for it. It should be expected.
- neom 2y ago
  I think it depends a bit on how you think about rehabilitation? Many believe incarcerated people should be given a chance to get their life back on track (a difficult thing to do no matter what walk of life you come from), you may not like her methods, but she is certainly entitled to them.
  - 4ndrewl 2y ago
    She can absolutely do that without the need for obsequious front-page magazine spreads.
  - anovikov 2y ago
    I know some people who went through incarceration. Their life lesson is: don't get caught. They come out of there just being better criminals, not better people.
    - idiotsecant 2y ago
      Easy there. Anecdote != Data.
      - andsoitis 2y ago
        I agree that we should not be confident in anecdotes, but the statistics support the assertion for the US: The percentage of people who commit crimes again after release varies by state, time, and type of crime, but it's generally around 68% within three years. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-common-is-it-for-released-prisoners-to-re-offend/ https://usafacts.org/articles/how-common-is-it-for-released-...
matwood 2y ago
She was a fraud and deserved to be convicted. But, I also think she was over sentenced because she pulled one over on and embarrassed a bunch of rich guys.
- plagiarist 2y ago
  I don't know about oversentenced, but indeed, apparently one can commit deliberate medical malpractice to whatever number of plebs and just be acquitted of that part.
- voidr 2y ago
  She should have been given life, she played with other people's lives and livelihoods for personal gain.
gorgoiler 2y ago
The People subtitle reminds us she has a fraud conviction and the first paragraph objectively calls her “disgraced” while reporting that Holmes maintains her innocence. What would The Verge prefer? To be any more explicit would require openly calling Holmes out of her mind. I’m quite capable of reading that between the lines.
- throwaway784989 2y ago
  I don't know what the Verge would prefer, but I'd prefer that People not run a PR fluff piece that is obviously part of her plan to convince people she's not a piece of shit. They're not reporting news or commenting on some new development. There's nothing informative to be reported. It's just a PR piece.
rqtwteye 2y ago
Trying to pull a Michael Milken. Her husband has money, so she probably will succeed in the long run.
belter 2y ago
"Why Elizabeth Holmes Was On Trial and Mark Zuckerberg Wasn’t" (2021) - https://archive.is/jbrjw https://archive.is/jbrjw
tyronehed 2y ago
Play with people's money and see the fangs come out.
SebFender 2y ago
Straight to the garbage.
xyzzyfoobar 2y ago
[flagged]
- idiotsecant 2y ago
  She's a woman, and not a 'tame' fox news floor model. That is unlikely to play.
duxup 2y ago
>“I’m not the same person I was back then,” Holmes tells People, vaguely saying that “there are things I would have done differently.” She still insists Theranos was a failure, not a fraud. So ... same person? "would have done differently" seems like a very empty statement, what could it possibly mean? Just not get caught? The amazing thing about all this is her company apparently had nothing of value, not even an idea anyone that some company chose to buy after the fact.
thr0away 2y ago
Is she any worse than POTUS? I think she may receive a presidential pardon!
- duxup 2y ago
  I think she was convicted in state court. POTUS can only pardon federal crimes.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
recursivedoubts 2y ago
Daily reminder that according to some studies roughly 4% of CEOs are sociopaths.
- readthenotes1 2y ago
  That's like gen pop rate nowadays though
ChrisArchitect 2y ago
Actual article: https://people.com/elizabeth-holmes-breaks-her-silence-in-first-interview-from-prison-it-s-been-hell-and-torture-exclusive-8789737 https://people.com/elizabeth-holmes-breaks-her-silence-in-fi... (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43030801 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43030801)
GlibMonkeyDeath 2y ago
"Theranos failed. But failure is not fraud" "...she's continuing to write patents for new inventions and plans to resume her career in healthcare technology after her release." The most charitable interpretation of her behavior is that she is still too uneducated to understand that what her company was built on could never work. There was a reason none of the traditional biotech VC's would listen to her. And it wasn't like the fraud she perpetuated was harmless. Then, while under indictment, she has two kids? The only ones who I feel sorry for are her children. The sooner we stop hearing about this sociopath the better.
voidr 2y ago
> the emphasis is on Holmes as a mother, and how hard it is for her to be away from her children. Many mothers are in prison for far less, don't believe she should get a free pass.

41 points by smgit 2y ago

I’ve seen TikTok videos of her recently and was wondering about why as she’s not famous or talented. I think it’s bad that she defrauded so many people but still has massive enough cash that she’s paying a PR firm while she’s in prison. So the lesson here is to suck, lie, and be a mean person and you still walk away with cash. If she ends up launching a Gwyneth Paltrow-type style brand after release, I’m going to weep a little bit.

kasperni 2y ago
> I think it’s bad that she defrauded so many people but still has massive enough cash that she’s paying a PR firm while she’s in prison. Pretty sure she doesn't have any money herself as she has been declared insolvent. However, her husbond is heir to 3 luxury hotels. And she doesn't come from a poor background either.
BoxFour 2y ago
> wondering about why It’s likely a mix of several things: 1. Society’s fascination with “big crime”, especially fraud—figures like Frank Abagnale, Anna Delvey, Jordan Belfort, and obviously Holmes herself have all been turned into popular films or TV series. 2. She has a knack for “branding” and generating a cult of personality, even if (maybe because) her ethics are nonexistent. 3. She seems to have landed on some financial stability through her spouse, which I’m sure is being used in small amounts for things like this. 4. In a strange way, she appears eager to redeem herself. An ethical person might do this through charity or similar means, but for her, being seen as a “titan of industry” likely equates to redemption. Your observation isn’t off—I wouldn’t be surprised if she launches some kind of lifestyle brand after her release.
- plagiarist 2y ago
  > An ethical person might do this through charity or similar means, but for her, being seen as a “titan of industry” likely equates to redemption. She knows what country she is in, at least.
belter 2y ago
Her life is like a Hallmark movie: Convicted to prison, meets a 10 years younger partner just on time, and surprise, surprise, he happens to be a Hotel chain heir... :-)
1vuio0pswjnm7 2y ago
"So the lesson here is to suck, lie, and be a mean person and you still walk away with cash." Only a person who themselves exhibits those qualities or someone cynical to the point of foolishness would conclude that is the lesson. Nothing indicates that walking away with cash cannot be achieved without sucking, lying and being mean. The lesson is that a person who does what Holmes did may get caught and may suffer consequences. She has two young kids. She sits in prison as they grow up.

anshumankmr 2y ago

She is doing her part in improving healthcare for everyone. Which is to do nothing and stay in jail.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

dijit 2y ago

I'm always dubious when it comes to hagiographies of individuals in media. It feels good for someone else to point it out, since in this case it really rings hollow for basically everyone. Why should we humanise and care about someone who was a terrible boss, a terrible fraudster and a bare-face liar. What endeavours were not financed because of her? Who's career was torpedoed and who was stolen away from noble causes because of her lies? Taking some accountability is rare, she should, and we don't have to applaud her for it. It should be expected.

neom 2y ago
I think it depends a bit on how you think about rehabilitation? Many believe incarcerated people should be given a chance to get their life back on track (a difficult thing to do no matter what walk of life you come from), you may not like her methods, but she is certainly entitled to them.
- 4ndrewl 2y ago
  She can absolutely do that without the need for obsequious front-page magazine spreads.
- anovikov 2y ago
  I know some people who went through incarceration. Their life lesson is: don't get caught. They come out of there just being better criminals, not better people.
  - idiotsecant 2y ago
    Easy there. Anecdote != Data.
    - andsoitis 2y ago
      I agree that we should not be confident in anecdotes, but the statistics support the assertion for the US: The percentage of people who commit crimes again after release varies by state, time, and type of crime, but it's generally around 68% within three years. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-common-is-it-for-released-prisoners-to-re-offend/ https://usafacts.org/articles/how-common-is-it-for-released-...

matwood 2y ago

She was a fraud and deserved to be convicted. But, I also think she was over sentenced because she pulled one over on and embarrassed a bunch of rich guys.

plagiarist 2y ago
I don't know about oversentenced, but indeed, apparently one can commit deliberate medical malpractice to whatever number of plebs and just be acquitted of that part.
voidr 2y ago
She should have been given life, she played with other people's lives and livelihoods for personal gain.

gorgoiler 2y ago

The People subtitle reminds us she has a fraud conviction and the first paragraph objectively calls her “disgraced” while reporting that Holmes maintains her innocence. What would The Verge prefer? To be any more explicit would require openly calling Holmes out of her mind. I’m quite capable of reading that between the lines.

throwaway784989 2y ago
I don't know what the Verge would prefer, but I'd prefer that People not run a PR fluff piece that is obviously part of her plan to convince people she's not a piece of shit. They're not reporting news or commenting on some new development. There's nothing informative to be reported. It's just a PR piece.

rqtwteye 2y ago

Trying to pull a Michael Milken. Her husband has money, so she probably will succeed in the long run.

belter 2y ago

"Why Elizabeth Holmes Was On Trial and Mark Zuckerberg Wasn’t" (2021) - https://archive.is/jbrjw https://archive.is/jbrjw

tyronehed 2y ago

Play with people's money and see the fangs come out.

SebFender 2y ago

Straight to the garbage.

xyzzyfoobar 2y ago

[flagged]

idiotsecant 2y ago
She's a woman, and not a 'tame' fox news floor model. That is unlikely to play.

duxup 2y ago

>“I’m not the same person I was back then,” Holmes tells People, vaguely saying that “there are things I would have done differently.” She still insists Theranos was a failure, not a fraud. So ... same person? "would have done differently" seems like a very empty statement, what could it possibly mean? Just not get caught? The amazing thing about all this is her company apparently had nothing of value, not even an idea anyone that some company chose to buy after the fact.

thr0away 2y ago

Is she any worse than POTUS? I think she may receive a presidential pardon!

duxup 2y ago
I think she was convicted in state court. POTUS can only pardon federal crimes.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

recursivedoubts 2y ago

Daily reminder that according to some studies roughly 4% of CEOs are sociopaths.

readthenotes1 2y ago
That's like gen pop rate nowadays though

ChrisArchitect 2y ago

Actual article: https://people.com/elizabeth-holmes-breaks-her-silence-in-first-interview-from-prison-it-s-been-hell-and-torture-exclusive-8789737 https://people.com/elizabeth-holmes-breaks-her-silence-in-fi... (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43030801 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43030801)

GlibMonkeyDeath 2y ago

"Theranos failed. But failure is not fraud" "...she's continuing to write patents for new inventions and plans to resume her career in healthcare technology after her release." The most charitable interpretation of her behavior is that she is still too uneducated to understand that what her company was built on could never work. There was a reason none of the traditional biotech VC's would listen to her. And it wasn't like the fraud she perpetuated was harmless. Then, while under indictment, she has two kids? The only ones who I feel sorry for are her children. The sooner we stop hearing about this sociopath the better.

voidr 2y ago

> the emphasis is on Holmes as a mother, and how hard it is for her to be away from her children. Many mothers are in prison for far less, don't believe she should get a free pass.