Cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee is no stranger to controversy.
The eccentric computer programmer has attracted numerous headlines over the years for various reasons — most of which have nothing to do with antivirus software, his first claim to fame.
In addition to promising to eat his d–k on national television if the bitcoin price fails to reach $500,000 by 2020 (a mark he later upped to $1 million), McAfee has run for president and had his house raided by Belize’s Gang Suppression Unit.
McAfee’s time spent on the run while sought for questioning in connection with a murder will also reportedly be dramatized in a motion picture starring Johnny Depp.
That’s why, when McAfee acknowledged on Twitter that he had used cryptocurrency to pay for prostitutes, he said he was “boggle[d]” at all the “hubbub” that the admission created.
It’s not all that shocking that the post incurred Twitter outrage, but McAfee said that his followers would have been naive to assume that he never used cryptocurrency to make illicit transactions.
“I met my wife as a prostitute five years ago,” he said, adding that he had also bought illegal drugs, pornography, and “nearly every other questionable product or service that you can imagine — all with crypto when possible.”
This, perhaps, explains McAfee’s affinity for anonymity-centric cryptocurrency monero.
The incident is the second time that McAfee’s Twitter account has made news in recent weeks. At the end of December, his account was hacked and used to pump a number of cryptocurrencies in a parody of his controversial “coin of the day” series.
Responding to the saga — which many deemed ironic considering his tech pedigree — McAfee express indignation at his critics.
“Though I am a security expert, I have no control over Twitter’s security. I have haters. I am a target. People make fake accounts, fake screenshots, fake claims. I am a target for hackers who lost money and blame me. Please take responsibility for yourselves. Adults only please,” he said.