How many press conferences is Michael Bay going to destroy?

Bayhem is back

by Chaim Gartenberg

Oct 19, 2016, 7:22 PM UTC

Michael Bay has destroyed another press conference today, derailing LeEco’s demo of the company’s LeSee Pro self-driving car with a mere video of Bay showing off the car on the London set of Transformers: The Last Knight.

Michael Bay doesn't have the best history when it comes to major technology company press conferences, famously forgetting his lines mid-speech at a Samsung keynote at CES in 2014 before hastily walking off the stage. And while Bay himself did fine at the LeEco press conference, it seems we've reached the point where simply having Bay's image on stage is to invite trouble and ruin upon your keynote.

The real question is, how many times is this going to happen before companies learn their lesson? How many press conferences must Michael Bay leave shattered in his wake like the wreckage of so many exploded cars before we stop using him as an easy brand tie-in? When will the madness end?

And while LeEco’s demo of the LeSee’s self-driving capabilities was a failure despite the company’s best preparations, it seems to have learned something from Samsung: Bay’s lines were at least recorded in advance this time.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.