Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford University in 2003 at the age of 19 and founded Theranos, a company that promised a cheaper and more effective way to take blood for lab work. Her success was short-lived, however, as she ended up becoming part of a monumental scandal.
Holmes and the company’s president, Ramesh Balwani, worked with investors, government agencies, doctors, engineers, pharmaceutical companies and many others to create Theranos technology.
They were able to manufacture a machine called the Edison, which supposedly could use a single drop of blood from a finger prick to run medical tests. They claimed it would only cost patients anywhere from $2 to $4.
There was only one problem with the Edison machine, though: it didn’t work at all. They were not even close to being able to invent a product that was able to yield accurate results. It wasn’t going to be inexpensive either.
Holmes and the rest of the company began lying to investors about their revenue, which was almost zero. They also forged different documents and logos of pharmaceutical brands that “supported” them, and scientists used standard technology to actually run the tests behind closed doors.
In 2015, employees came forward, and journalists exposed the truth. Elizabeth Holmes received a sentence of 11 years and three months in prison for the charges. But unlike her co-conspirator Balwani, she has gained more and more attention from the media in several forms.
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim directed a three-hour A24 documentary released on Oct. 16 called “You Can See Everything” about Holmes’ last 34 days before going to prison, which reignited people’s interest and led some fans to rewatch “The Dropout,” where Amanda Seyfried plays a very accurate portrayal of Holmes.
This spike in attention has led people on social media to post edits of her. In each video, she is being idolized and defended, with some videos calling her an icon or even a “girlboss.” While most of the comments seem funny or sarcastic, nobody seems to be taking her crimes seriously.
Holmes’ unnerving eye contact, low monotone voice and almost robotic mannerisms are chilling on screen, but apologists online use these quirks to support the idea that she may have been mentally unwell.
This is a dangerous idea because she was evaluated by psychiatrists while on trial and no diagnosis was established. Instead, there was an overwhelming consensus that these behaviors were merely ways she coped with massive deceit.
Elizabeth Holmes is someone who took millions of dollars from people who wanted to help create something they believed would help the world. Not only that, but patients received inaccurate results about serious conditions. Holmes put people in life-threatening situations. She is not someone who should be looked up to or pitied. In fact, people should truly dislike her.
Elizabeth Holmes and many other female criminals seem to intrigue people. This may be because she challenges traditional stereotypes around women, as a woman with this kind of malice and deviance is seen as unexpected.
Another important aspect of Holmes’ brand was making herself seem very intelligent and ambitious. While she truly was just a liar, that image of her lasts in the media.
Whether people who edit videos and post about Holmes are serious about holding her in high esteem, her horrible actions seem to shrink away. It is no wonder the internet is interested in Elizabeth Holmes and her story, but it is critical that the narrative doesn’t change and she remains infamous, not famous.
