--- description: Kalanick does not suggest that Emil Michael has been suspended or fired title: Uber CEO Offers Epic, Rambling Apology image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte3ee4b030c6e44fd/69876966f887dc015de88715/travis-kalanick.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Uber CEO Offers Epic, Rambling Twitter Apology by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 18, 2014 7:59 PM CUT  Travis Kalanick, chief executive officer of Uber Technologies Inc., speaks during the Institute of Directors (IOD) annual convention at the Royal Albert Hall in London, U.K., on Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. Travis Kalanick, chief executive officer of Uber Technologies Inc., speaks during the Institute of Directors (IOD) annual convention at the Royal Albert Hall in London, U.K., on Friday, Oct. 3, 2014.Chris Ratcliffe—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 18, 2014 7:59 PM CUT Uber CEO Travis Kalanick on Tuesday afternoon offered up his first public comments since [reports surfaced](http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/uber-executive-suggests-digging-up-dirt-on-journalists "undefined") that company senior vice president Emil Michael floated the idea of hiring opposition researchers to dig up dirt on journalists that are critical of the company. Here is what Kalanick had to say: > [](https://twitter.com/travisk/status/534789412094496768) > [](https://twitter.com/travisk/status/534789934490857472) > [](https://twitter.com/travisk/status/534790043605663745) > [](https://twitter.com/travisk/status/534790200132894721) > [](https://twitter.com/travisk/status/534790305401544705) > [](https://twitter.com/travisk/status/534790393351897088) > [](https://twitter.com/travisk/status/534790466454446081) > [](https://twitter.com/travisk/status/534790544510431233) > [](https://twitter.com/travisk/status/534790627368914944) > [](https://twitter.com/travisk/status/534790695157248000) > [](https://twitter.com/travisk/status/534790769924919296) Kalanick does not suggest that Emil Michael has been suspended or fired, nor did he address simultaneous reports that Uber employees have accessed certain user data in violation of Uber’s terms of service. [_This article originally appeared on Fortune.com_](http://fortune.com/2014/11/18/uber-ceo-comments-on-execs-media-revenge-plans/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3592953/uber-ceo-media-revenge-plans/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3592953/uber-ceo-media-revenge-plans/"},"headline":"Uber CEO Offers Epic, Rambling Twitter Apology","datePublished":"2014-11-18T19:59:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:43.161Z","description":"Kalanick does not suggest controversial VP has been suspended or fired","url":"https://time.com/3592953/uber-ceo-media-revenge-plans/","keywords":["Companies","Tech","Uber","Travis Kalanick"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte3ee4b030c6e44fd/69876966f887dc015de88715/travis-kalanick.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte3ee4b030c6e44fd/69876966f887dc015de88715/travis-kalanick.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Key Speakers At The Institute of Directors Annual Convention","caption":"Key Speakers At The Institute of Directors Annual Convention","creditText":"Chris Ratcliffe—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3592953/uber-ceo-media-revenge-plans/","name":"Uber CEO Offers Epic, Rambling Twitter Apology"}}]}] ```