5 Things BP CEO Tony Hayward Wishes He'd Never Said

In addition to adding a few million barrels of crude oil to the Gulf of Mexico, BP has another gusher that they can’t seem to cap — the mouth of the oil giant CEO Tony Hayward. Since he’s become minorly famous (and certainly infamous) in recent weeks, the oil industry bigwig can’t seem to shut his big trap. And Newsweek has picked some of his greatest hits.

“What the hell did we do to deserve this?”
-Hayward speaking to his BP pals at the company’s London office on April 29 (as reported by the NY Times).

“The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume.”
-Hayward attempting to pish-posh the problem to UK newspaper the Guardian on May 14.

“The environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest.”
-Once again, Hayward tries to allay fears by flat-out lying, this time to Sky News in mid-May.

“There’s no one who wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back.”
-Moaning to the Today Show on May 30 about how tough he’s got it right now. Unlike the other comments, Hayward later apologized for this statement.

“There aren’t any plumes.”
-Hayward on May 31, denying all scientific evidence of the existence of underwater plumes of oil. Perhaps he still believes in the Easter Bunny?

What Not to Say When Your Company Is Ruining the World [Newsweek]

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