Linda Yaccarino How CEO had been set up to fail at Musk's X

When Linda Yaccarino, an NBC advertising executive, joined what was then still known as Twitter in May 2023, she was given a tall order: repair the company's relationship with advertisers after a chaotic year of being owned by Elon Musk.

- Johana Bhuiyan Nick Robins-Early

Just weeks after she became chief executive, Musk posted an antisemitic tweet that drove major brands—including Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Comcast, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros Discovery—to pause their advertising on the platform.

Musk delivered an apology for the tweet later at a conference—which he called the worst post he had ever done—but it came with a message to advertisers, specifically the Disney chief, Bob Iger: "Go fuck yourselves." Yaccarino was in the audience of the conference.

"I don't want them to advertise," Musk said. "If someone is going to blackmail me with advertising or money, go fuck yourself. Go. Fuck. Yourself," he said. "Is that clear?"

Hey Bob, if you're in the audience, that's how I feel.

In the two years since, Yaccarino—who announced she was leaving X this week—has had to contend with the unpredictability of Musk, hate speech issues on the platform, strained relationships with advertisers, and the widespread criticism her boss received for his role in Donald Trump's administration. Her response in some cases was to remain silent; in others, she chose to defend the company. Through it all, however, experts say it was clear Yaccarino was the chief executive in title only.