Marissa Mayer defends Travis Kalanick: 'I just don't think he knew' about the toxic Uber culture

Travis Kalanick has at least one other recently unemployed chief executive in his corner.

Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer defended the disgraced Uber leader's honor -- or at least his obliviousness -- in a speech in Palo Alto on Tuesday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

“I just don’t think he knew,” Mayer reportedly said of why Kalanick let such a toxic culture of systemic sexism fester at the ride-hailing company. “When your company scales that quickly, it’s hard.”

“Scale is incredibly tricky,” she added. “I count Travis as one of my friends. I think he’s a phenomenal leader; Uber is ridiculously interesting.”

Mayer's speculation flies in the face of news reports that indicate that Kalanick was, at best, aware of and, at worst, directly responsible for many of the incidents revealed in the lead-up to his departure from the company.

Mayer, who stepped down from her Yahoo post this month after the company's sale to Verizon was complete, has had her name floated as a possible replacement for the Uber chief. Notably, many of those in the ride-hailing company's top ranks remain staunch Kalanick loyalists.

Uber's board forced Kalanick out of the company he co-founded after an avalanche of scandals revealed a work culture rife with entrenched sexism. He remains on Uber's board.