This week Uber has been getting yet more bad press, with the exec saying off the record that he wants to hire people to dig up dirt on the journalists who have criticised the company for sexism - specifically the female Silicon Valley editor Sarah Lacy, who had written a piece alleging that a culture of 'sexism and misogyny' existed within Uber.
Now Ashton Kutcher, whose company A Grade invests in Uber, has spoken out in defence of those comments and - hang on, Ashton Kutcher sort of owns Uber? We didn't know that. Did everyone else know this?
So everytime we're drunk and stumbling into one of their cabs, a bit of that money is going in Ashton Kutcher's wallet? What a weird thought.
Anyway, the actor embarked on a misguided Twitter rant, seeming to lump investigative, critical journalists (such as Sarah Lacey) into the same category as entertainment journalists (such as me, and what I'm writing right this second) - asking why we should dig dirt on them, if they have dirt on him? Thing is, Sarah Lacey wasn't digging up dirt. She was being a good reporter, and uncovering a sexist culture in a fast-growing company, that needed to be outed. She wasn't posting intrusive pics of celebs 'stepping out while running away from paps' or 'pouring their curves into a dress'.
READ MORE: These Stories About Uber May Make You Think Twice About Travelling Alone
OK so by the end, it's clear he's totally wandered into celebs-being-harassed-by-journos territory, rather than focusing on the piece that came out about Uber. Then he really gets into his stride and just takes a shitload of swipes at all journalists in general, which of course he would because he's constantly dealing with people hounding him for details of his private life - but that shouldn't mean he tars everyone with the same brush.
We take his point, that public figures are held up to ridicule - but it's a grey area. If, in response to someone investigating the Bill Cosby rape allegations, for example, that journalist's work was discredited because they'd once had an affair, then nothing important would ever be written.
Although, yes, it's unfair that this does happen among elevated public figures, and it's a culture that need to be rethought. While there's a lot of crap being bandied about, there's also lots of great and significant stories being written. Sarah Lacey was doing important work that needed to be done, and you'd hope that Ashton would be able to tell the difference.
But in truth he's probably just a bit biased, because he co-owns Uber. Yeah that's still weird.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.