Robert Sillerman is the 64-year-old CEO of SFX Entertainment, the newly public company that produces popular electronic dance music [EDM] festivals like Tomorrowland, Rock in Rio, and Electric Zoo.
But Sillerman acted anything but professional Tuesday when he landed in Miami for the Ultra Music Festival by flipping the bird and grabbing his crotch as he descended from a private jet. (Via Buzzfeed)
The images and video instantly went viral.
Buzzfeed graciously giffed one of the highlights.
While some EDM fans thought it was funny, no one was laughing during SFX's earnings call on Thursday.
Doug Mitchelson, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, asked Sillerman on the call: “And lastly, Bob, I’m not even sort of sure how to ask this question … we understand that you’re something of a non-traditional CEO, but any comment you want to make on the gestures you were making? Was that to a specific person or to everybody as you came out of the plane yesterday? We’re just trying to make sure that you’re still sane.”
“Um, well — thank you for referring to me as a non-traditional CEO," Sillerman began, explaining: "That was a result of an internal, the culmination of an internal conversation and joke within the company, and while I certainly wasn’t crazy about the fact that it was tweeted out, it’s had a very interesting reaction from the uh, music community down here, (which) has fundamentally said, 'F--- yeah, we get it.'”
He continued: “But no, I was not trying to imitate Michael Jackson or Stephen Colbert talking to somebody about how much better the hot dogs were in New York. That was an internal thing. It’s fairly indicative, I think, of the way internally that we enjoy ourselves, and we’re willing to push the envelope, I guess is the best way to say it.”
It was at this point that SFX's shares started to fall, decreasing up to 20% to $5.70. They rose again by Thursday afternoon by 11% to $6.81, reports Billboard.
For the record, Sillerman doesn't usually look quite as ridiculous while working his day job.
Or when plotting his next music festival takeover.
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