The photographer who took the famous shot of then-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes holding up a vial of blood is responding to her criticism of the picture.
Ethan Pines took the photo of Holmes in 2014, when she was 30, and it ran on the cover of Forbes magazine as the CEO was being hailed as a wunderkind in California’s Silicon Valley.
Theranos claimed that with a single drop of blood, its machines could give early diagnoses for health conditions.
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In the new documentary “You Can See Everything,” directed by Lance Oppenheim and Nathan Fielder, Holmes tells Mr. Fielder that she isn’t fond of the picture and doesn’t like being in the spotlight.
The documentary follows Holmes and her family for 34 days before she goes to prison. Holmes was convicted in January 2022 of defrauding investors and is serving an 11-year sentence.
Mr. Pines thinks Holmes would have liked the photo more if she hadn’t been discovered as a fraud.
“I’ve thought about this, and I imagine if the device had worked, and Theranos was a successful, innovative Silicon Valley company, and she was the CEO of this successful company, I feel like that photo would not carry any negative connotations with it,” Mr. Pines said. “It would represent her as a pioneer and a boss.”
He said he wanted to portray Holmes in a heroic light.
“I don’t know what the true Elizabeth Holmes is like,” Mr. Pines added. “And I think you walk away from this documentary wondering that also.”
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