Gulf Oil Spill: BP CEO Tony Hayward Apologizes For Saying 'I Want My Life Back'

BP CEO Tony Hayward blasted out a statement Wednesday in which he apologized for complaining over the weekend, "I'd like my life back."

Hayward said in Wednesday's statement that he was "appalled" to read his own statement, and singled out for apology the families of the 11 rig workers who died in the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The full statement appears below:

I made a hurtful and thoughtless comment on Sunday when I said that "I wanted my life back." When I read that recently, I was appalled. I apologize, especially to the families of the 11 men who lost their lives in this tragic accident. Those words don't represent how I feel about this tragedy, and certainly don't represent the hearts of the people of BP -- many of whom live and work in the Gulf -- who are doing everything they can to make things right. My first priority is doing all we can to restore the lives of the people of the Gulf region and their families -- to restore their lives, not mine.

WATCH Hayward's earlier statement:

Comments

[cantfiggeritout2]

11:56 AM on 06/05/2010

Tony Hayward says he wants his life back.... Who is entitled to a life when the company they are in charge of just caused the largest environmental disaster in history, not to mention when he made a 3.5m pounds last year??? R U SERIOUS ??????????? Take another fantasy pill Tony. U R going down......

[rf dude]

10:01 AM on 06/04/2010

" I'm sorry I whined about wanting my life back. I sincerely apologize".

" NOW can I have my life back ?"...
;;

[bluetick27]

11:44 PM on 06/03/2010

I'd say give him his life ... without parole in Leavenworth, for the murders of:

* Jason ANDERSON, of Midfield near Bay City, Texas.
* Aaron Dale BURKEEN, 37, Crane Operator, of Sandtown Community, Mississippi. Wife and two children.
* Donald CLARK, 49, assistant driller, of Newellton, LA, survived by wife, Sheila.
* Stephen Ray CURTIS, 39, Asst. Driller, of Georgetown, LA.
* Gordon JONES, 28, of Baton Rouge, LA area
* Roy Wyatt KEMP, 27, of Monterey, (Concordia Parish) LA, had two children.
* Karl KLEPPINGER, Jr., 38, floorman, of Natchez, formerly McComb, MS, Desert Storm veteran.
* Blair MANUEL, 56, native of Eunice, resident of St. Amant, LA. Chemical Engineer
* Dewey REVETTE, 48, of State Line in Southeast MS, oil driller, 29 years experience.
* Shane ROSHTO, 22, of Amite and/or Liberty, Franklin County, MS.
* Adam WEISE, 24 of Yorktown, Texas, youngest of four children.

[Raphael00]

03:44 PM on 06/03/2010

Wow! He's almost as good as Sarah Palin for that twice a week chuckle at stupidity!

[lesleypalmer]

09:52 AM on 06/03/2010

ThatsTheWayItIs, thanks for the illuminating presentation on the history and structure of multinational corporations, their officers, shareholders, and who you believe is responsible for the spill. Neatly done. You must think we are all stupid or venal or perhaps both...Surely, there's no reason to be angry with someone if they're doing their JOB.

Wow, the disconnect is breathtaking.

You have missed the point entirely about why this CEO is being vilified. Lloyd Blankefein did not initiate, nor did he "personally" shepherd CDS and subprime mortgages. Now think very carefully why a man who claims to be "doing God's work", however clever he thinks he may be...might incur the wrath of public citizens whose financial lives have been forever ruined by his firm's shenanigans. Eleven people died on BPs watch and Tony wants his life back. Pathetic. Don't worry ThatsTheWayItIs, little Tony won't suffer much from this. He has a gazillion dollars, he's got around-the-clock security, and if the board bounces him, he's got a billion dollar parachute. You're horrified that being a CEO puts you at personal risk? Newsflash...Multinational CEOs have had security teams for decades.

BP, its board, its CEOs have a history of being cavalier with people's lives, the environment, safety standards...etc.. Lucky for you that the Supreme Court is shredding the Constitution in favor of people JUST LIKE YOU. I'm sure with your apologist attitude, you will do well in the new corporate reality.

[ThatsTheTheWayItIs]

09:09 AM on 06/03/2010

Give the guy a break. Seriously.

Look, I know he's the CEO but HE JUST WORKS FOR THE COMPANY.

He reports to the Board of Directors, who report to the stockholders.
Who get all the profits BUT HAVE NO LEGAL RISK.

I've worked for large corporations, did things I didn't agree with.
I hope I never have my life threatened because of them.

Note: HAYWARD WAS NOT ON THE RIG.

A BP exec unwisely ordered sea water instead of heavy mud to be pumped into the well. That caused the blowout. If that exec was operating under Hayward's direct orders, then fine, "fry" Hayward. Otherwise Hayward is responsible, true, but he's not a villain.

Investors take the profit but assume no liability. The same should be true for workers.
And yes, execs are just workers, even the CEOs.

[KitToo]

03:17 AM on 06/07/2010

There's something seriously wrong with you That'sTheWayItIs.

"Investors take the profit but assume no liability."
Really?
So those first 36 pages devoted to every corporations prospectus where they explain the inherent risks of investing are all for naught?

Heard of a man named Bernie Maydoff?
Explain your little {Investments=profits/no liability} theory to those investors.

Better yet, come and sit by me because I had invested in Worldcom some years ago so perhaps you can help me see the light as to where exactly in your theory I'm missing that very all important part where my thousands of dollars lost forever is actually somehow some kind of profit for me.

*NOTE: BERNIE EBBERS WASN'T EVEN IN THE BUILDING WHEN WORLDCOM'S CFO SIGNED OFF ON THOSE ACCOUNTING PAPERS

Yet as an investor I still somehow wound up utterly screwed. hmph.

"Investors take the profit but assume no liability. The same should be true for workers."

I think you need to speak to anyone of the THOUSANDS of ENRON employees who not only lost their jobs due to their fabulous executives but also their ENTIRE LIFES PENSIONS which were based on ENRON stock that...yep, you guessed it...they invested in.
They were workers. So how do you reconcile that one ThatsTheWayItIs?

Based solely on the ignorance of what you've stated above... I'm sure no one is in the least bit surprised that you "worked for large corporations" and you "...did some things...".

[LisSuzNCritterz]

09:06 AM on 06/03/2010

I'm not even sure how to respond to this. Because the sad Truth is that the world and especially, America, is FULL of narcissism! This "quality" is now the GOAL of many of our children. When you look, you can see far more graduates going into "Wall Street Jobs" for the easy money! Or they become attorneys to see how much money they can make representing frivolous lawsuits!

I hate sounding so negative; but look at where this country is going...Wall St. CEO's making millions and millions thru fraud; BP's recklessness; and spreading all around the world as we type!

It is simply sad....sad....sad....what we have CHOSEN to do with our planet!

[Ljilja]

08:51 AM on 06/03/2010

Can anyone feel pity for this man?

It is very, very hard. Narcissism is one those very unattractive traits that are hard to get over, especially in a tragedy of these proportions.

http://graciouslivingdaybyday.com/

[beowulf39565]

01:36 PM on 06/03/2010

Narcissist, I am confused. I thought this was bout the CEO of BP, not the President of the United States. Indeed, give the guy a break. The drilling company they used to punch this hole in the ground only cut the corners and skimped on the safety equipment and cut corners that our politicians and fat cat bureaucrats let them get away with.

The economy in the region was one of the more robust in the Nation. Now, not only are the fisheries and fishermen out of business the tourist industry will be devastated too. All producing industries, only to be replaced non productive jobs cleaning up. To top it all off our President has stopped all drilling. Never mind there are 8 other countries drilling in the gulf. We must stop so there are more jobs going overseas as US rigs pull out and head for other countries. There go the support jobs on shore for these rigs right along with them. It is all as if it were designed to break the back of this country on top of all the bail outs and almost 100K troops fighting a war we will never win. A war against an enemy we are allowing to illegally cross our southern border daily, in broad daylight, because we are the land of the entitled and politically correct.

[DocSkull]

09:44 AM on 06/04/2010

"I am confused"

Boy howdy.

[thundermummy]

08:47 AM on 06/03/2010

Money talks and bullsh!t walks. Will BP fight tooth and nail against damage claims as Exxon did for years or will they own up and do the right thing? That is a rhetorical question of course.

[LamAng]

06:51 AM on 06/03/2010

This guy should not be worried about anything else but stop and clean the oil spill! And worry about his jail time later! I am concerned that BP might just fold and do nothing about the mess we have here.

[dashcat]

06:19 AM on 06/03/2010

So is BP going to support all the fishermen and restauranteurs and supermarkets who won't be able to get those shrimp and crab and fish? I don't think so. I doubt they take care of the families of the 11 men who died on the rig.

How long did it take this guy to realize his horrendous faux paux? And did he realize it or was it pointed it out to him?

[BlueCashew]

06:16 AM on 06/03/2010

In other words, BP's public relations staff finally convinced the boss that he needed to cover his assets.

[modrocker]

06:15 AM on 06/03/2010

The people who depend on the Gulf for their livelihoods (the watermen that is, not the energy business) want their lives back too. But they're not going to get them back. Please, take whatever golden parachute that BP will gift you for your miserable failure and go away. Take your life with you.

There is no lower form of human life than the oil executive. Well, since Donald Rumsfeld was a pharmaceutical executive (Searle) and he IS the worst human I've ever had to witness, count Big Pharma people in that assessment too.

[kareemachan]

09:01 AM on 06/03/2010

And "healthcare" industry executives...

[MichaelMcKLA]

04:46 AM on 06/03/2010

It had occurred to me that a good way to build a fire under BP would be to throw senior execs in the slammer until the problem is solved. No bail, no trial. Let 'em sit there.

It's doubtless illegal but it sure would feel good.

I think it was during the last Oscar telecast, an electronic billboard within camera view of the red carpet arrivals suddenly lit up very brightly. LAPD was told to find the boss and somebody (the mayor?) had the guy jailed until that sign was turned off. That got the point across.

[Jim Shaffer]

05:37 AM on 06/03/2010

Ya know, it's hard to believe, but the oil spill could be considered a threat to national security. Under those conditions the president weilds extraordinary powers. He could lock up those BP exxecs that are in the US and nationalize all their assets in US banks. If he were so inclined, of course.

[dashcat]

06:20 AM on 06/03/2010

I like your idea.

[JavaManiac]

04:45 AM on 06/03/2010

This guy needs to resign. He has absolutely NO TACT!

How can he be the spokesperson - the face of BP - when he has no empathy for the impact of the disaster his company has caused.

[CKL]

07:59 AM on 06/03/2010

He is just one more of the uncaring, condescending, greedy CEOs we have seen and heard from recently - remember the Congressional testimonies from the heads of the Lehman Bros, Goldman Sachs, AIG, etc. They could care less.