Buzz
There are moments when we all speak before fully thinking things through. Without meaning to, we might hurt someone's feelings or tarnish our own or our employer’s reputation.
This often happens when we're caught off guard or having a rough day. Usually, a sincere apology is enough to fix things. The biggest mistake we can make when we’ve already messed up is to keep making it worse. But for some people, it seems, they simply don’t know when to stop digging.
Here are 10 individuals who would have benefited from remembering that silence is golden.
10. Keith Cochrane
Keith Cochrane, the former CEO of Stagecoach, must have felt pretty confident when he was interviewed by Forbes Global in 2002. And who could blame him? Stagecoach was a renowned company, and he was thriving.
The very next day, things weren’t looking so good for him. During the interview, Cochrane had supposedly called his US customers “riffraff,” a term that didn’t sit well with them. Cochrane denied making the remark and threatened legal action. However, the magazine stood by its story, and no lawsuit followed.
Sales of Coaches in the US dropped—and the decline continued. By July 2002, Cochrane resigned. For entirely different reasons.
9. Andrew Mitchell
In 2012, Andrew Mitchell, a senior British government figure and chief whip, tried to cycle through the gates of Downing Street. A policeman on duty informed Mitchell that he had to dismount and walk his bike through the gate, as per the usual procedure.
Clearly in a rush, Mitchell was displeased by the request to dismount. The next morning, a national newspaper published a report on the incident, citing Mitchell’s angry response to the officer: “Best you learn your f—king place—you don’t run this f—king government—you’re f—king plebs.”
The public was shocked, not so much by the foul language, but by the use of the word “pleb.” It was seen as a display of class prejudice and a lack of respect for the officer.
At that point, Mitchell had three choices. He could have apologized, claimed to have forgotten what he said but offered an apology “in case he had caused offense,” or called the officer a liar. Mitchell chose the third option.
For good measure, he took legal action against the newspaper for libel.
CCTV footage was reviewed, revealing a visibly irate Mitchell angrily chastising the officer before eventually dismounting and storming through the gate. The policeman, in turn, filed a defamation suit against Mitchell.
The aftermath of the incident, which became known as “Plebgate,” was that the police officer won his case, Mitchell lost his, and the controversy led to his resignation from the cabinet.
8. Gerald Ratner
Gerald Ratner created a hugely successful chain of jewelry stores with a distinct business model, achieving annual sales surpassing £1 billion. Naturally, other business leaders were keen to learn the secret behind his success.
And he shared it with them.
In 1991, Ratner gave a speech at the Royal Albert Hall in London to an audience of 6,000 business executives, dignitaries, and, unfortunately for him, journalists. He started with the usual points about quality, choice, and aspiration—fairly standard topics. But then, he decided to “throw in a joke.”
“People often ask, ‘How can you sell this at such a low price?’ I respond, ‘Because it’s total crap.’ ”
And then he made another one.
“We even sell a pair of [gold] earrings for under £1,” he remarked. “Some people say, ‘That’s cheaper than a prawn sandwich!’ [ . . . ] I have to admit, the sandwich will likely outlast the earrings.”
The following morning, he woke up to a flood of front-page headlines about his speech and his company. The Sunday Times humorously dubbed him “Gerald Crapner.”
He attempted to downplay the comments. But by the time his company had lost £500 million in just a few days, he realized he was in serious trouble. No one wanted to buy jewelry from “Crapners.”
He was forced to close hundreds of stores and lay off 25,000 employees. He sold his shares for a fraction of their worth to settle the £1 billion debt he owed the bank and walked away with nothing.
7. David Shepherd
In 2001, David Shepherd, a senior director at Topman, one of the UK’s largest menswear chains, referred to his customers as “hooligans.” Topman boasted 329 stores nationwide, catering primarily to young, single men with ample disposable income and few commitments—what Shepherd called, “beer-swilling lads.”
When asked why Topman didn’t stock many suits, he explained, “Very few of our customers need suits for work. They’ll need them for their first interview or their first court appearance.”
Shepherd tried to downplay his remarks, and the company chairman claimed that Shepherd was “exaggerating to make a point.” However, the purpose of his point remains unclear.
Shepherd wasn’t dismissed despite the company’s immediate drop in share price. It seems that the “beer-swilling lads” didn’t take kindly to his comments, and Topman’s sales plummeted—and continued to decline over time. By January 2019, hundreds of stores were shut down, though by then it wasn’t solely due to Shepherd’s comments.
6. Allen Roses
Allen Roses was the global vice president of genetics at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. In 2003, at a scientific conference in London, Roses made a shocking revelation during a talk on drug efficacy: “The vast majority of drugs—over 90 percent—only work in 30 to 50 percent of the people.”
In simpler terms, nearly all drugs are effective for less than half of the people who take them. This was quite a revelation to the public, though it was reportedly common knowledge within the pharmaceutical industry when Roses delivered his speech. He further explained that fewer than half of patients prescribed some of the priciest medications experienced any benefit at all.
It was especially awkward that his comments came just days after the NHS announced a 50 percent increase in its drug bill over the past three years, reaching £7.2 billion. Additionally, it was only a week after GSK had proudly announced that it had 20 new drugs in development, each projected to generate around $1 billion annually for the company.
Roses, though controversial, was a highly intelligent individual. His genetic research aimed at pinpointing “responders,” or individuals who would truly benefit from a specific medication. This approach would minimize waste, cut costs, and help reduce unnecessary drug sales.
This strategy would be ideal for anyone who wasn’t employed by a large pharmaceutical company that profits from selling drugs.
5. Ivan Seidenberg
Ivan Seidenberg held significant sway at Verizon, the largest telecommunications company in the United States. In 2002, he was appointed as the company’s sole CEO after his co-CEO retired.
In 2005, Seidenberg appeared to feel that consumers were becoming too demanding. He questioned, “Why would you think your (cell) phone should work in your house?” and added, “The customer expects too much. They want it to work in the elevator; they want it to work in the basement.”
He also thought it unreasonable for the American public to expect to be informed about coverage areas and dead zones. “It’s not Verizon’s job to fix the misunderstanding by providing statistics on how often Verizon’s service works,” he stated.
Seidenberg concluded the interview by justifying the high fees imposed when consumers canceled their contracts.
By 2007, Seidenberg admitted that he had underestimated how new technologies would disrupt the market. “It’s a huge adjustment we’ve had to make to keep up with consumer demand,” he acknowledged.
Seidenberg retired as CEO of Verizon in 2011.
4. Helen Mirren
In 2017, Dame Helen Mirren, the face of L’Oreal at the time, made an unexpected comment during a panel discussion with L’Oreal executives. Breaking from the script, she stated, “I’m not setting standards for others. All I can do is be who I am. I’ve always loved makeup.”
Fair enough—this was exactly why they had hired her. Mirren is known for her feisty, independent persona, especially as an older woman, and that was the image L’Oreal wanted to promote. However, she continued, “I’m an eternal optimist. I know that when I put my moisturizer on, it probably does f–k all, but it just makes me feel better.”
The other panelists offered restrained smiles and quickly moved the conversation along. While L’Oreal didn’t directly address her comments, they emphasized they had chosen her because she “challenged perceptions of old age.”
3. Russell Brand
In 2009, TV host Jonathan Ross appeared as a guest on Russell Brand’s radio program. During the show, Brand thought it would be amusing to leave a voicemail for actor Andrew Sachs. Sachs wasn't available, so they decided to leave a message.
The voicemail began in a friendly tone, with Brand complimenting Sachs’s work and expressing regret that Sachs hadn’t made it onto the show. Then, out of nowhere, Ross yelled from behind, “He f—ked your granddaughter!”
At that point, Brand quickly ended the call.
At that point, they likely could have escaped the situation unnoticed, but Brand chose to call Sachs again. This time, he reached the voicemail once more. Brand apologized, explained it was all a joke, and offered another apology. He then asked for permission to marry the granddaughter, assured Sachs that he had used protection, and ended the call.
The two men proceeded to call once more. On this occasion, Russell Brand did what he’s known for best: improvising quirky rhymes on the spot without much thought behind them. The song included the words 'consensual' and 'menstrual' (because they rhymed), before Brand quickly hung up.
And then, the men made yet another call.
The media, particularly a newspaper with which Brand had a grudge, was incensed on Mr. Sachs's behalf and urged the public to file complaints. And they did.
Both presenters were suspended by the BBC and fined heavily, even though a somewhat amused Andrew Sachs stated that he wasn’t particularly upset by the incident. In fact, his granddaughter didn’t mind it either.
2. Mike Jeffries
In 2006, Mike Jeffries, who was then the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch, gave an interview to Salon that passed largely unnoticed at the time. However, six years later, someone seemingly took notice of the article.
And that’s when all chaos broke out. Jeffries had openly stated that he preferred to have only attractive people in his stores, claiming, 'Good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that.'
In other words, no unattractive people allowed. Just to drive the point home, Jeffries went on to specify that he didn’t want any 'uncool kids' or 'fat women' in his stores.
These plus-sized women just can't seem to catch a break.
Jeffries had crafted a master plan for Abercrombie and Fitch’s global dominance and wasn’t about to let anything—or anyone—get in his way, including 'girlcotting' high school feminists, humorless Asians, angry shareholders, thong-averse parents, lawsuit-happy minorities, nosy journalists, copycat competitors, or uptight moralists.'
The company was eventually forced to issue a public apology for the interview, but it wasn’t until 2013 when the interview resurfaced on social media. Sales suffered, and Jeffries stepped down in late 2014 due to falling company profits.
1. Chip Wilson
Chip Wilson was the founder of Lululemon Athletica, a company with a name that perfectly suited its focus on yoga apparel. In a 2013 interview, he shared that the reason the company’s yoga pants “pilled” wasn’t due to substandard materials, but rather because some of his customers were too large for them.
Yes, he actually said that. On television.
At the time, the company was already struggling due to heightened competition in the women’s sportswear market, and his remarks certainly didn’t help sales. For some reason, women weren’t too happy about it.
In 2013, Chip Wilson stepped down from his role as chairman of the company. He doesn’t quite seem to have grasped what went wrong, though. He later published a memoir about the controversy and titled it Little Black Stretchy Pants, featuring a cover image of a butt and thighs (with a noticeable thigh gap) clad in his signature yoga pants.
