Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says that doing interesting things means you will have critics.
Onstage at Vox Media's Code Conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Bezos was asked for his thoughts on the controversy surrounding billionaire Peter Thiel and Gawker Media. Thiel recently revealed that he has been funding Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against the publication.
Though Bezos was careful to say that he didn't want to comment specifically on Thiel or Gawker's case, he had some strong words.
He started paraphrasing an old quote: "Seek revenge and you will dig two graves — one for yourself."
"You have to decide whether you really want to try to spend your time righting wrongs, even if they're legitimate, or moving on to do other things," he continued.
"I would say that as a public figure, the best defense to speech that you don't like about yourself as a public figure is to develop a thick skin," he added, "because you can’t stop criticism. You are going to get it. If you're doing anything interesting in the world, you are going to have critics. You can't stop it. Move forward. It's not worth losing any sleep over."
He also added his thoughts on protecting free speech:
"This country has the best free-speech laws in the world," he said. "You don't want to erode those. You don't want to create fear or chill."
Peter Thiel told The New York Times last week that he helped fund the lawsuit of Hogan — real name Terry Bollea —against Gawker Media to the tune of about $10 million. In the interview, Thiel said, "If I didn't do something, nobody would," referring to what he described as Gawker's "very painful" reporting.
Gawker is now on the hook for $140 million, the amount a jury awarded Hogan in March. Gawker says it will appeal.
