Apple Killed TV+ Show On Gawker After Tim Cook Voiced Disapproval: NYT

Apple Inc’s AAPL streaming service TV+ abandoned plans to make a series inspired by Gawker Media after CEO Tim Cook expressed disapproval in an email, the New York Times reported Sunday.

What Happened: The show “Scraper” was modeled after Gawker, which shot into the limelight for taking aim at America’s well-known. Gawker was shut down in 2016 after being in business for 15 years, as a result of litigation brought on by its targets.

Two Gawker veterans, Cord Jefferson and Max Read, were involved in selling the idea to Apple TV+, according to the Times.

The Cupertino-California-based tech giant also reportedly hired two former Gawker editors Emma Carmichael and Leah Beckmann as writers and they had completed several episodes.

Cook was reportedly surprised that Apple was involved in making a show about Gawker and expressed a negative view towards the former publisher. Apple then moved to shelve the project, as per the Times.

Why It Matters: Cook was outed as gay by Gawker in 2008 and the website’s Ryan Tate had labeled him as “The Most Powerful Gay Man In America,” when he ascended to the top post at the tech giant, the Times noted.

PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL  co-founder Peter Thiel is said to have secretly financed the lawsuit that brought down Gawker.

Gawker in 2007 published an article titled "Peter Thiel is totally gay, people," written by Owen Thomas, a gay journalist himself.

Even though Apple killed the project, the show is now back on the market, and Layne Eskridge, the executive who brought in the show, has left the company, the Times reported.

Price Action: Apple shares closed nearly 0.7% lower at $122.41 on Friday and fell 0.11% in the after-hours session.

See Also: Apple Extends Free TV+ Subscriptions Through February

Photo by lemagit on Flickr