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Bad for business: Another TV character has a heart attack after riding a Peloton

A character from the show ‘Billions’ almost died while exercising on a Peloton bike

By Gitanjali Poonia Gitanjali Pooniagpoonia@deseretnews.com
SHARE Bad for business: Another TV character has a heart attack after riding a Peloton
John Foley, left, is seen behind one of his company’s fitness machine along with others gathered for the groundbreaking for the company’s first U.S. factory, Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, in Luckey, Ohio.

Peloton CEO John Foley, left, is seen behind one of his company’s fitness machine along with others gathered for the groundbreaking for the company’s first U.S. factory, Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, in Luckey, Ohio. Investors bailed on Peloton after the company said it expected to lose more money than previously forecast in 2022 as the pandemic winds down and fewer people feel compelled to buy high-end exercise equipment for their homes.

John Seewer, Associated Press

Peloton has become the serial killer on television. First, it was Mr. Big from “And Just Like That,” the “Sex and the City” reboot. Now it is a central character on the Season 6 premiere of Showtime’s “Billions.”

Spoiler alert — it’s Mike Wagner, played by David Costabile.

The bike company took to Twitter to respond to the heart attack of a television character at the hands of Peloton.

  • “We get TV shows want to include Peloton to get people talking, but to be clear, we did *not* agree for our brand or IP to be used on Billions or provide any equipment,” they said in a statement. “As the show itself points out, cardio-vascular exercise helps people lead long, happy lives.”

“As referenced by the show itself, there are strong benefits of cardiovascular exercise to help people lead long, happy lives,” a Peloton spokesperson said, per CNN.

Last month, the company saw an 11% stock drop after news of Mr. Big’s death went viral. But unlike Mr. Big, Wags survives. The show even makes a nod to the “Sex and the City” plot, according to The New York Times.

“I’m not going out like Mr. Big,” Wags says in the season premiere.

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But this isn’t the only problem the company is facing. Blackwells Capital, an activist investor, which owns less than 5% of Peloton, voiced concerns in a letter on Monday saying that CEO John Foley misled investors saying that “the company did not need additional capital, just weeks before issuing $1 billion of equity.”

Adding, that Foley being “reluctant to work with the Consumer Product Safety Commission” over a recall of its treadmills was listed as another misstep, per CBS News.

  • “We believe that no board exercising reasonable judgment could leave Mr. Foley in charge of Peloton,” wrote Jason Aintabi, chief investment officer at Blackwells.

At the same, Foley and other insiders have more than 80% of Peloton’s voting power as of Sept. 30, per the report.