Controversial Engineer Fired by Apple Speaks Out Over ‘False’ Claims
Former Facebook product manager Antonio García Martínez’s career as an engineer on Apple’s ad targeting team was rather short-lived. After just being hired in April, Martínez was let go earlier this week.
Fired by the Cupertino, California-based tech giant after employee backlash over misogynistic and racist passages in his best-selling memoir, Chaos Monkeys, Martínez took to Twitter earlier today to speak his truth on the debacle.
Martínez started by saying he originally hoped to “settle things amicably” with his now ex-employer, but has decided to speak out after Apple issued a statement on his dismissal.
According to Apple’s statement, Martínez’s termination was a result of “negative behavior” he exhibited during his time at Apple, a claim that the former Apple employee says is “defamatory and categorically false”.
Martínez says he was actively sought after by Apple and convinced to leave his old job for a career at the tech giant for his expertise in the ads industry, especially in ad privacy — a clear priority for the iPhone maker at this time.
According to Martínez, Apple did all of this with full knowledge of his career as a writer, his best-selling book, and the contents thereof.
The engineer further stressed that joining Apple was a career move he made at great personal cost, which was all for naught now that the company has decided to wash its hands of him.
Martínez was fired by Apple after an in-house petition urging upper management to look into the misogynistic and racist contents of his published memoir that directly oppose Apple’s commitment to Inclusion & Diversity was signed by 200+ employees.
1. Apple actively recruited me for my role on the ads team, reaching out via a former colleague to convince me to join. Apple found my experience in the ads space, specifically around data and privacy, highly relevant to their efforts and persuaded me to leave my then role.
— Antonio García Martínez (@antoniogm) May 14, 2021
3. Apple was well aware of my writing before hiring me. My references were questioned extensively about my bestselling book and my real professional persona (rather than literary one).
This set of prominent Valley VCs and execs are all willing to assert as much under oath.
— Antonio García Martínez (@antoniogm) May 14, 2021
5. Apple has issued a statement that clearly implies there was some negative behavior by me during my time at Apple. That is defamatory and categorically false.
— Antonio García Martínez (@antoniogm) May 14, 2021
Martínez says his persona as a writer and his professional persona are different and completely independent, to which end Apple extensively questioned all of his references. His “prominent” Silicon Valley venture capitalist references interviewed by Apple are also willing to testify to that fact under oath, says Martínez.
Leading up to his departure for California, Martínez shared on his Twitter timeline leaving his home in Washington State, particularly one location on Orcas Island, in the San Juan Islands, in the Pacific Northwest.