Jeff Bezos is getting praised for calling out racist emails from customers. Here are the Amazon CEO's sharpest jabs at his critics, from calling one 'the kind of customer he's happy to lose' to a reported blackmail attempt

Avery HartmansJun 9, 2020, 02:21 IST

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.Cliff Owen/AP

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has begun turning to the internet to voice his opinions on everything from the Black Lives Matter movement to a possible blackmail attempt.
While he's traded barbs with space rival Elon Musk in the past, 2019 seems to have marked a new era for Bezos: with his increased visibility have come increased critiques of him and Amazon.
Bezos hasn't taken all of it lying down, turning to Instagram — and, in the most high-profile incident, Medium —to speak his mind.
Most recently, he's drawn the ire of some Amazon customers who disagree with the company's support for racial justice. Bezos has started posting emails he's received to Instagram, describing one irate man as "the kind of customer I'm happy to lose."

Jeff Bezos has been speaking his mind in recent days about his support of the Black Lives Matter movement — but it's not the first time Bezos has used his platform to issue stinging reprimands or frustrated rebuttals.

Particularly in the last 18 months, the Amazon CEO and owner of rocket company Blue Origin has seen his star — and his massive fortune — rise. But along with that visibility have come frequent critiques of Bezos and Amazon, and even an attempt at blackmail, according to Bezos himself.

It appears that Bezos isn't shy about making his opinions known, and he's increasingly turning to social media to do it. While he's used Twitter in the past to trade barbs with tech rivals like Elon Musk, 2019 marked the beginning of a more outspoken era for Bezos.

Bezos has spoken out sparingly over the years, and has rarely used social media to respond to critics or trade jabs. But in 2015, he used Twitter to add fuel to his nearly decades-long battle with Elon Musk over space travel.

Jeff Bezos inside a Blue Origin mockup in 2017. Isaiah J. Downing/Reuters

Bezos has spoken out sparingly over the years, and has rarely used social media to respond to critics or trade jabs. But in 2015, he used Twitter to add fuel to his nearly decades-long battle with Elon Musk over space travel.

In February 2019, Bezos published an explosive blog post titled "No thank you, Mr. Pecker," in which he accused National Enquirer publisher AMI and its CEO, David Pecker, of trying to blackmail him.

A New York Post cover shows a headline related to Bezos' blog post about Pecker in February 2019. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

In February 2019, Bezos published an explosive blog post titled "No thank you, Mr. Pecker," in which he accused National Enquirer publisher AMI and its CEO, David Pecker, of trying to blackmail him.

More recently, Bezos took to Instagram to call out a senior Trump official who accused him of ducking an important meeting.

Peter Navarro, White House Trade and Manufacturing Policy Director. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In June, amid ongoing protests against police brutality, Amazon has added a Black Lives Matter banner to its site, a move that appears to have angered some customers. Bezos shared an email he received titled "All Lives Matter," along with his pointed rebuke.

In a second Instagram post, Bezos wrote that an angry customer who sent him a profanity-laden email was "the kind of customer I'm happy to lose."

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Jeff Bezos is getting praised for calling out racist emails from customers. Here are the Amazon CEO's sharpest jabs at his critics, from calling one 'the kind of customer he's happy to lose' to a reported blackmail attempt

Bezos has spoken out sparingly over the years, and has rarely used social media to respond to critics or trade jabs. But in 2015, he used Twitter to add fuel to his nearly decades-long battle with Elon Musk over space travel.

In February 2019, Bezos published an explosive blog post titled "No thank you, Mr. Pecker," in which he accused National Enquirer publisher AMI and its CEO, David Pecker, of trying to blackmail him.

More recently, Bezos took to Instagram to call out a senior Trump official who accused him of ducking an important meeting.

In June, amid ongoing protests against police brutality, Amazon has added a Black Lives Matter banner to its site, a move that appears to have angered some customers. Bezos shared an email he received titled "All Lives Matter," along with his pointed rebuke.

In a second Instagram post, Bezos wrote that an angry customer who sent him a profanity-laden email was "the kind of customer I'm happy to lose."