Bill Gates has been repainted in the last couple years from evil genius businessman to a model of modern philanthropy. There was definitely a time in my life where he would have been high on my list of consequential assholes, but he fell off that list sometime after he stepped down as CEO of Microsoft and began devoting his impressive wealth and brain power to solving all kinds of public health and education issues around the world.

Well in the words of D’Angelo Barksdale (yes, I’m obsessed with The Wire) “It don’t matter that some fool say he different…“- Gates is as much of a porcupine as ever.
Check out the attitude Bill gives Advertising Age Magazine when interviewer Bob Garfield asks his about the Mac ads:

GARFIELD: I want to ask you one more thing: Those Mac ads — how do you feel about the John Hodgman character?

GATES: I can’t comment on someone else’s ad.

GARFIELD: OK … but he’s you.

GATES: Yeah, I’m not gonna comment on someone else’s ad.

GARFIELD: OK, well, Bill Gates, thank you so much for joining us.

(Silence)

GARFIELD: Can I just have a clean goodbye?

(Silence)

GARFIELD: OK, can you just say goodbye? Thank you or goodbye or something like that?

GATES: Goodbye.

(Listen to the audio from Advertising Age)

Bob Garfield isn’t just some schmuck. He has co-hosted one of NPR’s most acclaimed shows, On the Media, for years. No interviewer, least of all one with such an impressive background, should be treated so. Getting interviewed doesn’t mean that you get to talk about what you want, and then turn around and be an ass when the interviewer asks you an uncomfortable but fair question that is entirely relevant to the publication.

Bill must be bitter he didn’t crush Apple when he had the chance in the mid-late 90’s.

(Via Gizmodo)

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