A Silicon Valley millionaire posted about a $100,000 (€94,297) offer he made to a woman sitting next to him on a plane.
Tech entrepreneur Steve Kirsch claimed to be shocked after the woman declined to remove her mask even though he offered her a staggering sum of money.
Mr Kirsch was accused by some of spreading false information on Covid throughout the pandemic, The Mirror reported.
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Posting online in the aftermath, he wrote: “I am on board a Delta flight right now. The person sitting next to me in first class refused $100,000 to remove her mask for the entire flight. No joke. This was after I explained they don’t work."
He said his initial offer was $100 and told her that she could get infected when removing it for eating or drinking.
"She took off her mask as soon as the breakfast was served. Because everyone knows you can’t get infected while you are eating," he noted sarcastically.
But his actions were soon slammed by other Twitter users, who branded the request as "creepy."
One wrote: “Did you have the $100,000 in cash? If not, you sound like a lunatic. How could they trust you’d pay up?”
Another remarked that they probably didn't even think the tech entrepreneur would even have $5 to his name.
The entrepreneur, who was one of two people to invent the optical mouse, posted that just days before, others had refused his offer.
He said: “I asked the people sitting next to me on the plane if I paid them $10,000 would they remove their mask for the duration of the flight? Both declined the offer. Maybe I should offer $100,000 next time?”
One criticism outlined that women don’t want to make deals with creepy men on planes.
Another said: “Do you make a habit of offering money to random women to remove coverings from their bodies mid-air?”
“I wore a mask on the plane and still got Covid. I already have long Covid. My physical therapy bills laugh at your measly $10,000," one final comment directed at the 67-year-old Los Angeles native said.
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