Virgin Galactic distanced itself Tuesday from Chamath Palihapitiya, the chairman of its board of directors, after he declared on a podcast that “nobody cares” about China’s human rights abuses toward Uyghurs.
Palihapitiya’s firm, Social Capital, took Virgin Galactic public via a SPAC deal in 2019. Palihapitiya sold his personal stake in Virgin Galactic for $213 million last March, but he remains listed as chairman.
A Virgin Galactic spokesperson told The Post that the company “believes every human being is entitled to fundamental human rights.”
“Chamath Palihapitiya’s comments do not reflect the views of Virgin Galactic and he does not speak on behalf of the company,” the spokesperson said.
Palihapitiya, a billionaire investor who also owns a minority stake in the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, faced a massive backlash for his remarks on the “All In” podcast over the weekend. During a conversation regarding President Biden’s handling of diplomatic relations with China, Palihapitiya was dismissive about concerns over Beijing’s actions toward the Muslim minority group.
“Let’s be honest, nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs,” Palihapitiya said. “You bring it up because you really care, and I think that’s nice that you care. The rest of us don’t care.
“I’m telling you a very hard, ugly truth. Of all the things that I care about, it is below my line.”
The US government and human rights groups have referred to China’s actions, which include the formation of internment camps and forced labor, as a genocide.
In December, Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which bans product imports from the Xinjiang region — the epicenter of the human rights abuses — unless businesses can prove they were not made with forced labor.
Palihapitiya’s remarks also drew a sharp response from the NBA’s Warriors, who described him as a “limited investor who has no day-to-day operating functions.”
“Mr. Palihapitiya does not speak on behalf of our franchise, and his views certainly don’t reflect those of our organization,” the Warriors said.
Palihapitiya later attempted to clarify his remarks on the podcast, tweeting, “important issues deserve nuanced discussions.”
“In re-listening to this week’s podcast, I recognize that I come across as lacking empathy,” Palihapitiya tweeted. “I acknowledge that entirely.”
“As a refugee, my family fled a country with its own human rights issues so this is something that is very much a part of my lived experience. To be clear, my belief is that human rights matter, whether in China, the United States, or elsewhere. Full stop.”