The ‘crying CEO’ sacked two people then posted a weeping selfie on LinkedIn. No wonder the backlash was swift

‘Wallake was mocked mainly for the performative nature of his crying, rather than the crying itself.’ Photograph: 5M_photos/Getty Images/iStockphoto (posed by model)

Braden Wallake had a difficult choice to make. The 32-year-old CEO of HyperSocial, a marketing agency, had just sacked two of his 17 employees and needed to choose between quietly helping the newly unemployed pair move on with their lives and turning their misfortune into self-aggrandising online content.

You guessed it: Wallake chose option two. You see, no one really thinks about CEOs’ feelings. Wallake wanted everyone to know that chief executives are humans, too. They get hurt and feel pain just like mere mortals do. So, he snapped a selfie of himself crying and posted it on LinkedIn, along with an inspirational message about what a great guy he was.