# Privileged sociopath Elizabeth Holmes is pregnant, delaying her trial? WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 13, 2021, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808 "2021-03-13T05:11:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/61 "2021-05-17T15:10:45Z")
That photo, the one you most commonly see in conjunction with stories about Elizabeth Holmes, appears to be one shot for a Theranos marketing campaign. From the book “Bad Blood”: “You’re the leader.” _Click._ _Click._ _Click._ “Strong, powerful.” _Click._ _Click._ “Think of your mission.” _Click._ _Click._ _Click._ _Click._ “The famous portrait photographer Martin Schoeller was softly whispering directions to Elizabeth in his thick German accent to elicit a range of emotions from her as he snapped her picture.” There are other photos of Holmes in informal settings that lack a creepy vibe. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/62 "2021-05-17T15:57:52Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > There are other photos of Holmes in informal settings that lack a creepy vibe. Here is an example, she looks like a normal human here. [![](https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/i7C6oEeE8eG8/v0/1000x-1.jpg) ](https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/i7C6oEeE8eG8/v0/1000x-1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/63 "2021-05-17T15:59:27Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > There are other photos of Holmes in informal settings that lack a creepy vibe. I’ve seen plenty of pictures, and video, of Holmes during the Theranos days. I realize that the picture above is a posed picture, taken by a professional photographer, but she always seemed to wear makeup like that. It’s definitely a look she worked on. And that, along with the voice (which some people around her then said was an affection) was just this big weird thing, undoubtedly part of the con. As I said, she looks pretty ordinary these days, and the change is striking. ETA: By the “picture above,” I mean the one in post 59. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/64 "2021-05-17T16:02:29Z")
I would expect her to look like the above photo if she was a _successful_ con artist. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/65 "2021-05-17T16:02:58Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Here is an example, she looks like a normal human here. Agreed. But a quick search leads me to believe that picture is post-Theranos, which kind of proves my point. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/66 "2021-05-17T16:18:25Z")
There was also the crazy low voice she adopted. If you saw one of the documentaries, you will have seen examples. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/67 "2021-05-17T16:34:57Z")
I’ve never heard her speak, so I just looked up an interview with her. [This one is from 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGfaJZAdfNE&t=93s). Yes, her voice sounds unnaturally low. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/68 "2021-05-17T16:36:21Z")
The documentary I saw said it was an affectation, meaning that was not her normal speaking voice. In short, her image was very carefully calculated. (Did you notice that she emulated Steve Jobs by wearing similar black turtlenecks?) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/69 "2021-05-17T16:39:16Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Seeing as she’s a fraudster, do we actually know she’s really pregnant, and not just faking? So, you’re thinking Mike Lindell might be a co-conspirator? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/70 "2021-05-17T16:47:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The documentary I saw said it was an affectation, meaning that was not her normal speaking voice So is she simply speaking in a low tone? Or is her voice being artificially manipulated using electronics/computer processing? I’m not an expert on these things, but in that interview it sort of sounds like the latter… ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/71 "2021-05-17T16:53:11Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > So is she simply speaking in a low tone? Or is her voice being artificially manipulated using electronics/computer processing? Typically the former (not counting out the latter though). She would also do this in person where speech processing could not be applied. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/72 "2021-05-17T21:03:27Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > The documentary I saw said it was an affectation, meaning that was not her normal speaking voice > > So is she simply speaking in a low tone? Or is her voice being artificially manipulated using electronics/computer processing? I’m not an expert on these things, but in that interview it sort of sounds like the latter… To me it sounded like how women often lower their voice when they’re mimicking men, e.g. when they’re quoting someone a man said. The part that stands out is how they tend to speak with a lower larynx, creating this big open throat sound, as that sounds lower inside your head. It’s also rather monotone in a way that suggests she can’t go any lower. I didn’t hear any digital artifacts, either. The following clip starts a recording of her where her voice sounds a bit hoarse from talking so low, followed by an example of her normal voice. Then several of the women discussing it mimic her voice, clearly not using any digital effects. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI_a-B6F1Eg) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/73 "2021-05-17T23:23:45Z")
I just finished “Bad Blood” by investigative journalist John Carreyrou (about the Theranos affair). It was a bit hard to get into initially because there were so many characters to keep track of and certain aspects of the technology were a bit daunting. But the book really catches fire when describing how disillusioned former Theranos employees are harassed and threatened as the Wall St. Journal investigation gathers steam, and the company Potemkin Village begins crumbling into dust. The company’s dirty deeds are mind-boggling. If only they’d taken a fraction of the money and effort spent on legal maneuverings, publicity campaigns and fundraising and devoted that to making their technology work reliably, the horrific mess could’ve been avoided. Money quote from Gen. James Mattis, onetime Theranos board member and fervent supporter (later Trump’s Secretary of Defense): “She (Elizabeth Holmes) has probably one of the most mature and well-honed sense of ethics - personal ethics, managerial ethics, business ethics, medical ethics that I’ve ever heard articulated.” > [@needscoffee](#): > > I’ve seen where people keep repeating the claim that she lowers her voice, but never any proof that this is so. The use of artificially low tones, apparently to convey _gravitas_ is covered in “Bad Blood”. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/74 "2021-05-17T23:24:14Z")
I’ve seen where people keep repeating the claim that she lowers her voice, but never any proof that this is so. ETA: Even in the clip posted above, her so-called “normal” voice had like 2 or 3 words where the pitch went up, then it went low again. Everybody’s voice does that. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/75 "2021-05-17T23:33:22Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The company’s dirty deeds are mind-boggling. If only they’d taken a fraction of the money and effort spent on legal maneuverings, publicity campaigns and fundraising and devoted that to making their technology work reliably, the horrific mess could’ve been avoided. The documentary I saw argued that their technology could never work. They interviewed, I think, a [Stanford Medicine professor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Gardner_(clinical_pharmacologist)) who said that it’s just not possible to run certain tests on only a pinprick of blood, which was what Theranos promised to do. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/76 "2021-05-17T23:34:46Z")
The two examples sounded pretty similar to me. I can think of people who have a voice that varies that much at different times. When she has a deeper voice she might just be tired or have some post nasal drip or something. I’m not trying to defend her, if she could change her voice to aid her scam I’m sure she would. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/77 "2021-05-17T23:55:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The two examples sounded pretty similar to me. Is it possible that variations in tone are simply not something you are sensitive to? All my life I’ve been able to “wow” people with my ability to identify individuals based on the sound of their voice; it’s just something I’m acutely aware of. Faces, on the other hand, give me terrible trouble. (We’ve had threads on prosopagnosia, aka “face blindness,” on the Dope; I’m definitely a sufferer). To me, as a voice-sensitive person, the two clips (incorporated into the one video in post #72) sound like the same person - something about the timbre and pronunciation stays the same - but _definitely_ like she’s deliberately altering her voice in the deeper examples. My own vocal cords practically ache in sympathy when I hear her. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/78 "2021-05-18T00:02:10Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Is it possible that variations in tone are simply not something you are sensitive to? Yes. > [@CairoCarol](#): > > To me, as a voice-sensitive person, the two clips (incorporated into the one video in post #72) sound like the same person - something about the timbre and pronunciation stays the same Yes, clearly, even to me, they are how the same person might speak. > [@CairoCarol](#): > > but _definitely_ like she’s deliberately altering her voice in the deeper examples. I have no reason to disbelieve you. I didn’t pick up on that myself but I don’t think I could distinguish between intentional and unintentional voice fluctuation from such similar samples. It’s not like she sounds like Donald Duck in one and Boris Karloff in the other. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/79 "2021-05-18T00:10:19Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > To me, as a voice-sensitive person, the two clips (incorporated into the one video in post #72) sound like the same person - something about the timbre and pronunciation stays the same - but _definitely_ like she’s deliberately altering her voice in the deeper examples. First they show her onstage, in her low voice. Then, cut to an interview, where she says, “well, no one has it,” in a higher expressive pitch, then immediately drops back down to the lower pitch to complete the sentence. The lower pitch is the exact same pitch as the onstage one. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808/80 "2021-05-18T00:15:18Z")
From “Bad Blood”: “Like most people, Greg (engineer at Theranos) had been taken aback by Elizabeth’s deep voice when he first met her. He soon began to suspect it was affected. One evening, as they wrapped up a meeting in her office shortly after he joined the company, she lapsed into a more natural-sounding young woman’s voice. “I’m really glad you’re here,” she told him as she got up from her chair, her pitch several octaves higher than usual. In her excitement, she seemed to have momentarily forgotten to turn on the baritone. When Greg thought about it, there was a certain logic to her act: Silicon Valley was overwhelmingly a man’s world…At some point, she must have decided the deep voice was necessary to get people’s attention and be taken seriously.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/privileged-sociopath-elizabeth-holmes-is-pregnant-delaying-her-trial-wtf/937808.md?page=5)