A tech tycoon has been branded a “creep” after allegedly offering a lady $100,000 to take off her face mask on board a Delta flight.
Steve Kirsch took to Twitter to say he made the anonymous passenger the offer last Friday.
“I’m on board a Delta flight right away. The person sitting next to me in first-class refused $100,000 to remove her mask for all the flight,” the millionaire wrote. “No joke. This was after I explained they don’t work. She works for a pharma company.”
Kirsch accompanied his post with a selfie that showed him smiling on board the total flight. He didn’t disclose the destination to which he was traveling.
The Post reached out to Kirsch for comment.
Kirsch is a Silicon Valley veteran who’s credited with considered one of the primary versions of the optical mouse back in 1980.
He later co-founded Frame Technology Corp, which was bought by Adobe in 1995, and created the search engine Infoseek, which was sold to Disney in 1999.
His net value was reported at $230 million in 2007.
In 2020, Kirsch created a research fund for potential COVID treatments, pouring $1 million into the enterprise, based on MIT Technology Review.
Nevertheless, the publication reports that he has since change into a skeptic about authorized COVID vaccines and has spread “misinformation” in regards to the pandemic online.
His Twitter feed, on which he describes himself as a “truth-teller” and “critical thinker,” is complete with links to articles which can be also skeptical of COVID mandates and masking practices.
Kirsch followed up his initial tweet with a lengthy thread further explaining his interaction with the mask-clad traveler.
“I began the bidding at $100,” the businessman wrote. “And I identified that when she removed the mask for eating and drinking, she could possibly be infected with one breath. So she had full disclosure.”
“She took off her mask as soon because the breakfast was served!!!! Because everyone knows you possibly can’t get infected if you are eating!!” he sarcastically added, before concluding: “Possibly next time I’ll sit next to someone who had an account at Silicon Valley Bank.”
Kirsch’s Twitter thread quickly went viral, with many slamming the tech millionaire for his behavior.
“An entitled mansplainer! I bet the woman wished she had one other seat,” one social media user responded.
“Harassed a lady minding her own business in a confined space where she couldn’t get away from you…. Lovely,” one other charged.
Kirsch was also called a “creep” and a “noxious smug idiot.”
Nevertheless, there have been some Twitter users who said they’d have taken up Kirsch on the offer.
“I wish I used to be sitting next to you, I’d be richer now about $100,000 and I could have finally bought my daughter’s dream home,” one supporter stated. “But I wouldn’t must be persuaded to take off the mask. Throughout the pandemic, I fought to not wear it.”
“Even when it was GUARANTEED I’d get COVID I’d take the $100k, depending on where I used to be going,” one other declared.
Airlines and airports dropped mask mandates last April following a court ruling, although many travelers continued to go for face coverings on flights.
