The Dropout star ‘commends vision' of convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes
The disgraced CEO shot to fame with her idea for new blood testing technology.
The Dropout star Michaela Watkins has said she commends the vision of disgraced entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted of defrauding investors at the start of the year.
The former CEO of now-defunct tech company Theranos claimed to have invented technology that could run hundreds of health tests on a drop of blood using a revolutionary machine named the Edison.
Holmes was its public face and briefly became a media darling, appearing on the cover of several magazines including Forbes and Fortune, as well as being named one of Glamour's Women of the Year in 2015.
Watkins has a supporting role in The Dropout, a factual drama series charting the rise and fall of Theranos, where she plays an in-house lawyer for the company called Linda Tanner.
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While she in no way condones Holmes' actions, the Search Party actor says the concept for the technology behind the fraud is an "amazing" idea in theory.
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Watkins told RadioTimes.com: "I mean, all of us have had to go to the doctor's office and they take vial after vial after vial of blood… it is so taxing, time consuming [and] expensive.
"How great would it be if you could be at home, prick your own blood [and] have it tell you how your health is going? I mean, that would be amazing."
She continued: "I can see how Elizabeth Holmes must have been very excited about this notion. I mean, there's a lot of things that we never thought we'd have – self-driving cars or telephones that take pictures – everything we do, somebody had to innovate it."
Nevertheless, Watkins goes on to say that Holmes should have accepted her idea was simply not possible with current technology, rather than continue seeking funding for a product that was completely non-functional.
"It's a little like putting blood in a fax machine and thinking that somebody on the other end is going to get it. I just don't understand the physical way that could have happened," she said.
"I commend her for having vision for it and it sounds like there were moments that could have worked, but the ‘fake it till you make it’ [approach] is a little bit dubious."
The Dropout premieres on Disney Plus on Thursday 3rd March 2022. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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