A flurry of LinkedIn users piled on to mock a CEO who posted a viral “crying selfie” photo alongside an announcement that he was firing several employees of his internet marketing company.
One LinkedIn user who goes by the name Drew M. posted his own crying selfie while expressing regret for “Taco Tuesday,” saying it was “a bad choice.” Another confessed to landing in a “guilt trap of having KFC today” after spending the past month working out at the gym.
Braden Wallake, the chief executive of the Columbus, Ohio-based B2B marketing firm HyperSocial, was the subject of merciless criticism after he posted a photo of himself shedding tears as he announced layoffs at his company.
“This will be the most vulnerable thing I’ll ever share,” Wallake wrote in the lengthy, rambling message to employees. “I’ve gone back and forth whether to post this or not.”
David Rolls, a London-based podcaster, composed a spoof of Wallake’s post on Wednesday — accompanied by an exaggerated, babyish crying selfie of his own — in which he claimed his decision to go on an “all-inclusive” vacation in Thailand left him with no money, forcing him to take his team’s commission.
“I’ve never been to Thailand, and really want to go, so what was I to do?” Rolls wrote. “Go somewhere cheaper? A 4-star resort? Of course not.”
Rolls concluded the post by writing: “I can’t think of a lower moment than this.”
As of Thursday morning, Rolls’ mock post generated more than 15,300 reactions, some 2,400 comments, and around 100 shares on LinkedIn.
Syeda Abedi, a marketing specialist, posted her own crying selfie, declaring: “Fought myself in deciding whether to upload it or not but here is me in a guilt trap of having KFC today knowing that I have been kicking my ass off in the gym for the last whole month.”
“Ps. No lay offs to announce!” she wrote.
Another LinkedIn user posted a photo showing basketball legend Michael Jordan crying — a play on the famous meme that mocked the Chicago Bulls icon after he gave a tearful speech during his Hall of Fame induction ceremony over a decade ago.
“I thought for at least a few minutes whether I should share this or not,” he wrote, mimicking Wallake’s intro.
Yet another LinkedIn user named Dominic Brasovaeanu, who identifies himself as a customer experience expert, posted a weepy, wet-cheeked selfie of his own, pursing his lips and furring his brow.
“No layoffs to announce here, however [t]ears are coming and they don’t stop coming,” he wrote.
Not all users found the spoofs funny.
“I understand people’s reactions to the CEO’s post but quite frankly bullying someone to get likes is not a tad better,” one user wrote in response to Rolls’ spoof.
“If satire starts being classed as bullying, that will be a real shame and a sad moment in human history,” Rolls replied.
Another user likewise took issue with the “Taco Tuesday” spoof.
“I feel like this is 2x bad. Men should cry and have feelings, but also actually exhibit empathy and EQ,” a LinkedIn user wrote. “And also the more this happens the more that guy gets attention where it should not go. For everyone else that is legitimately upset for actual reasons, this diminishes them. Stop the madness.”
“I’m actually really sensitive about my sweatiness,” Drew M. replied.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
