Anti-aging tech mogul Bryan Johnson accused the New York Times of preparing to publish a “hit piece” about him that includes salacious allegations about procuring prostitutes, using drugs and forcing employees to sign nondisclosure agreements.
The 47-year-old centimillionaire, who spends around $2 million annually to achieve the body of an 18-year-old, posted a lengthy thread on his X account on Monday that began with him writing: “The New York Times is preparing to publish a hit piece on me.”
According to Johnson, a Times reporter reached out to him with what he called “fact-checking” questions before publication of a story “about Bryan Johnson and his weaponization of non-disclosure agreements over the years to cover a range of bad behavior…”
Johnson, who is best known for his “Blueprint” project, a radical anti-aging experiment where he spends millions annually in an attempt to slow or reverse aging, accused the Gray Lady of “reviving accusations” from an ex-fiancée “that were twice rejected by two legal forums, repackaging them for clicks.”
The anti-aging mogul, who made his fortune after selling his payment processing company Braintree to PayPal for $800 million in cash in 2013, was likely referencing a 2021 lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by television actress Taryn Southern.
In the suit, Southern alleged that Johnson was a serial cheater who dumped her while she was undergoing breast cancer treatments.
Southern also alleged Johnson had flings with “more than a dozen women” during their relationship, paid for prostitutes and pursued women through “Sugar Daddy” apps, according to the court filing.
In his X thread, Johnson wrote: “For five years, my ex has been trying to extract money from me and one of her principal tools has been a series of false allegations.”
He added: “All her attempts have failed.”
According to Johnson, Southern was ordered to pay him $500,000 after she and her lawyers were determined to have made “serious allegations [that were]…factually and legally baseless and frivolous.”
“This is how the media operates: if they can’t get you legally, they try to get you socially. They don’t need truth. They need narrative,” Johnson wrote.
The Post has sought comment from Southern.
Johnson also wrote that the Times journalist who reached out to him is planning to report that employees at his anti-aging company “said they felt coerced into signing” a so-called “opt-in” agreement which “makes [them] attest that they are okay with a wide range of unusual workplace behavior” and that “they don’t find it ‘abusive’ or ‘unprofessional’.”
“I post nudes on social media. I track my nighttime erections. My team openly discusses my semen health,” Johnson wrote on X.
“We make dank memes. Rather than letting people walk in blind, we disclose this upfront, in writing, so there are no surprises.”
Johnson also wrote that he was asked by the Times reporter about confidentiality agreements with “at least more than two dozen people over the last ten years” — including a 24-page document that employees at his company signed and which contained “many details related to your personal relationships and other restrictions…”
The mogul defended the practice of confidentiality agreements, saying they were “standard and normal.”
“I would be surprised if you didn’t sign one as a condition of employment at The New York Times,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson quoted the Times reporter as asking him about agreements that were used to “cover up business failings.”
According to Johnson, the Times will report that he informed his leadership team last year that the company was running out of money.
“I’m also aware that you have used them to hide details of your personal life. That includes use of prostitutes and also your drug use, including acid, Ibogain and DMT. Do you have any comment on that?” the Times reporter wrote to Johnson.
Johnson blasted the reporter, saying that she “mixes professional topics (funding) with inflammatory personal allegations (prostitutes, drug use) to imply a broader pattern of secrecy and misconduct.”
“This is a classic guilt-by-association tactic designed to make any response seem like an admission,” Johnson wrote, calling the Times reporter’s approach “twisted.”
“By omitting key context, such as multiple legal rulings in my favor, she cherry-picks details to mislead readers,” Johnson wrote, adding: “This isn’t good journalism; it’s a pre-constructed hit piece disguised as reporting.”
The Post has sought comment from the Times.
