Tech tycoon defends ‘creepy’ $100,000 offer for woman to remove her mask on plane as ‘hypothetical’
A tech tycoon branded “creepy” over claims last week he offered a woman $100,000 to take off her mask on a flight has defended himself in a bombshell interview in which he insisted the proposal was purely hypothetical.
Steve Kirsch, 67, a Silicon Valley veteran worth about $230 million, made the proposal on Friday and even posted a smiling selfie on the Delta jet, with a caption describing the unpleasant offer.
“I’m on a Delta flight right now,” Kirsch wrote from his first-class seat on Friday. “The person sitting next to me in first class refused $100,000 to take off her mask for the entire flight.”
The tycoon – credited with inventing one of the first versions of the optical mouse in 1980 – was bombarded with criticism almost immediately, with social media users labeling him a “creepy liar” following the out-of-the-out -of-the-blue proposal.
Now to insist that the comments were made ironically, Kirsch spoke to Inside Edition Thursday to provide his own account of the now polarizing interaction.
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Now insisting the comments were made with a wink, Silicon Valley veteran Steve Kirsch spoke to Inside Edition on Thursday to provide his own account of the polarizing interaction.
Valued at around $230 million, the 67-year-old made the offer on Friday, posting a selfie and an accompanying caption describing the offer
“It was a hypothetical question, ‘How much would it cost to take off your mask?'” said Kirsch, who appeared for the interview from his living room at a distance.
“I said, ‘If I offered you $100…$1,000…I’d raise it to $100,000.’ People think I go after people aggressively, I don’t do that at all. We have a friendly conversation.’
Kirsch, a well-known proponent of anti-masks and anti-vaccination, claimed the meeting with the unnamed woman – who he said worked for a “pharmaceutical company” – was not serious.
That said, at a September 2021 US Food and Drug Administration committee meeting, the technology expert criticized doctors for forcing vaccine mandates on Americans, claiming that Pfizer’s jab “kills more people than it saves.”
Months earlier, the millionaire created a research fund for alternative COVID treatments in 2020, donating $1 million to the venture, the MIT Technology Review reported.
However, the outlet also alleges that as vaccines began to gain ground during the early days of the pandemic, Kirsch soon began questioning vaccines and their effectiveness as they had been approved by governments around the world.
The piece went on to allege that the tech vet is now deliberately spreading “misinformation” about the pandemic online.
However, on his Twitter profile, Kirsch calls himself both a “truth-teller” and a “critical thinker,” regularly sharing articles skeptical of Covid vaccines and masks.
One of the first versions of the optical mouse was credited to the Silicon Valley veteran in 1980. Kirsch, formerly president of Frame Technology Corporation, shows an application he created in 1986.
He said he offered a woman $100,000 to remove her mas for the entire flight, claiming she worked “for a pharmaceutical company”
Kirsch was hit by a barrage of tweets calling him a ‘creepy liar’, with dozens slamming the tech millionaire for his bizarre tirade
In the clip posted Friday, Kirsch began a lengthy tirade to explain his interaction with the woman, beating her brains about her preference to wear a mask.
He recalled, “I started bidding at $100. And I pointed out that when she took the mask off to eat and drink, she could become infected with one breath. So she had full disclosure.
“She took off her mask as soon as breakfast was served!!!! Because everyone knows you can’t get infected while you’re eating!!
“Maybe next time I’ll sit next to someone who had an account with Silicon Valley Bank.”
Kirsch was hit by a barrage of tweets calling him a “creepy liar,” with dozens berating the tech millionaire for his outlandish diatribe.
The millionaire created a research fund for possible COVID treatments in 2020 and donated $1 million to the company according to MIT Technology Review
One user called him an “entitled mansplainer,” while another said Delta should have refunded the woman her seat after “damaging arrogant fool” Kirsch ruined her flight.
Another said, “What an asshole thing to do. She paid for First Class and was still dealing with an idiot in her personal space.”
A third added, “What’s happening here, Steve, is people are weighing the likelihood of you being an upstanding rich man versus a creepy liar and reasonably landing on the latter.”
But some sided with the tech manager, saying the money would have “bought their daughter’s dream house.”
One user called him an “entitled mansplainer,” while another said Delta should have reimbursed the woman for her seat after “damaging arrogant fool” Kirsch ruined her flight
But some sided with the tech manager, saying the money would have “bought their daughter’s dream home”
Another said, “Even if I was GUARANTEED to get COVID, I’d take the $100,000 depending on where I went.”
The Silicon Valley veteran was credited with one of the first versions of the optical mouse in 1980.
He co-founded Frame Technology Corp, which was bought by Adobe in 1995 and then founded Infoseek and sold to Disney in 1999.
Airlines and airports dropped mask mandates following a court ruling in April 2022, though many travelers continued to opt for face coverings on flights.
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