Apple executive and former Interscope chairman, Jimmy Iovine, apologized today (November 20) over comments he made during an appearance CBS where he said women have a hard time finding music.
His quote came in response to a question he was asked related to Apple’s recent ads, which star Mary J. Blige, Taraji P. Henson and Kerry Washington. The spot features the trip reminiscing over mixtapes and discovering Apple Music’s curation serves to replicate the process. In attempting to contextualize the commercial, Iovine tried to explain the challenge of finding a DJ to make a mix, but what he said came off as insensitive to women.
“I always knew that women find it very difficult at times–some women–to find music. And this helps makes it easier with playlists, curated by real people,” he said, before adding: “I just thought of a problem: Girls are sitting around talking about boys. Or complaining about boys, when they have their heart broken or whatever. And they need music for that, right? It’s hard to find the right music. Not everybody knows a DJ.”
In his apology he noted his poor choice of words.
“We created Apple Music to make finding the right music easier for everyone—men and women, young and old,” Iovine said. “Our new ad focuses on women, which is why I answered the way I did, but of course the same applies equally for men. I could have chosen my words better, and I apologize.”