Elizabeth Holmes' PR campaign continues
53 comments
·February 13, 2025prepend
BoxFour
> 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
> 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.
kasperni
> 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.
belter
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... :-)
duxup
>“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.
null
gorgoiler
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
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
Trying to pull a Michael Milken. Her husband has money, so she probably will succeed in the long run.
matwood
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
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.
thr0away
Is she any worse than POTUS? I think she may receive a presidential pardon!
duxup
I think she was convicted in state court. POTUS can only pardon federal crimes.
belter
"Why Elizabeth Holmes Was On Trial and Mark Zuckerberg Wasn’t" (2021) - https://archive.is/jbrjw
GlibMonkeyDeath
"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.
SebFender
Straight to the garbage.
tyronehed
Play with people's money and see the fangs come out.
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.