Anti-aging tech mogul Bryan Johnson accused the New York Instances of making ready to publish a “hit piece” about him that features salacious allegations about procuring prostitutes, utilizing medication and forcing staff to signal nondisclosure agreements.
The 47-year-old centimillionaire, who spends round $2 million yearly to attain the physique of an 18-year-old, posted a prolonged thread on his X account on Monday that started with him writing: “The New York Times is preparing to publish a hit piece on me.”
In keeping with Johnson, a Instances reporter reached out to him with what he referred to as “fact-checking” questions earlier than publication of a narrative “about Bryan Johnson and his weaponization of non-disclosure agreements over the years to cover a range of bad behavior…”
Johnson, who’s greatest identified for his “Blueprint” venture, a radical anti-aging experiment the place he spends hundreds of thousands yearly in an try and sluggish or reverse getting old, accused the Grey Girl of “reviving accusations” from an ex-fiancée “that were twice rejected by two legal forums, repackaging them for clicks.”
The anti-aging mogul, who made his fortune after promoting his cost processing firm Braintree to PayPal for $800 million in money in 2013, was seemingly referencing a 2021 lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court docket by tv actress Taryn Southern.
Within the swimsuit, Southern alleged that Johnson was a serial cheater who dumped her whereas she was present process breast most cancers remedies.
Southern additionally alleged Johnson had flings with “more than a dozen women” throughout their relationship, paid for prostitutes and pursued ladies by “Sugar Daddy” apps, based on the courtroom submitting.
In his X thread, Johnson wrote: “For five years, my ex has been trying to extract money from me and one of her principal tools has been a series of false allegations.”
He added: “All her attempts have failed.”
In keeping with Johnson, Southern was ordered to pay him $500,000 after she and her attorneys have been decided to have made “serious allegations [that were]…factually and legally baseless and frivolous.”
“This is how the media operates: if they can’t get you legally, they try to get you socially. They don’t need truth. They need narrative,” Johnson wrote.
The Put up has sought remark from Southern.
Johnson additionally wrote that the Instances journalist who reached out to him is planning to report that staff at his anti-aging firm “said they felt coerced into signing” a so-called “opt-in” settlement which “makes [them] attest that they are okay with a wide range of unusual workplace behavior” and that “they don’t find it ‘abusive’ or ‘unprofessional’.”
“I post nudes on social media. I track my nighttime erections. My team openly discusses my semen health,” Johnson wrote on X.
“We make dank memes. Rather than letting people walk in blind, we disclose this upfront, in writing, so there are no surprises.”
Johnson additionally wrote that he was requested by the Instances reporter about confidentiality agreements with “at least more than two dozen people over the last ten years” — together with a 24-page doc that staff at his firm signed and which contained “many details related to your personal relationships and other restrictions…”
The mogul defended the follow of confidentiality agreements, saying they have been “standard and normal.”
“I would be surprised if you didn’t sign one as a condition of employment at The New York Times,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson quoted the Instances reporter as asking him about agreements that have been used to “cover up business failings.”
In keeping with Johnson, the Instances will report that he knowledgeable his management group final 12 months that the corporate was working out of cash.
“I’m also aware that you have used them to hide details of your personal life. That includes use of prostitutes and also your drug use, including acid, Ibogain and DMT. Do you have any comment on that?” the Instances reporter wrote to Johnson.
Johnson blasted the reporter, saying that she “mixes professional topics (funding) with inflammatory personal allegations (prostitutes, drug use) to imply a broader pattern of secrecy and misconduct.”
“This is a classic guilt-by-association tactic designed to make any response seem like an admission,” Johnson wrote, calling the Instances reporter’s strategy “twisted.”
“By omitting key context, such as multiple legal rulings in my favor, she cherry-picks details to mislead readers,” Johnson wrote, including: “This isn’t good journalism; it’s a pre-constructed hit piece disguised as reporting.”
The Put up has sought remark from the Instances.
