Facebook workers ‘blow dry Mark Zuckerberg’s sweaty armpits before events’, new book claims
FACEBOOK boss Mark Zuckerberg is such a bag of nerves before big speeches that his employees reportedly blow-dry his armpits to get rid of his anxiety-induced sweat.
The bizarre anecdote came from a new book about slippery Zuck and his scheming crew of execs, "Facebook: the Inside Story".
Penned by tech journalist Steven Levy, the book claims members of Facebook's communications team are roped in to dry out the 35-year-old's pits before events to make him appear less nervous.
Zuck is known to sweat profusely in front of large crowds, famously drenching himself during an appearance at the 2010 D8 conference in California.
At one point he was sweating so much he had to take off his hoodie as two journalists grilled the billionaire on Facebook's privacy rules, .
As to whether a hairdryer is now used to avoid similar gaffes, a Facebook spokesperson said it's unlikely employed at Zuckerberg's request.
"I doubt this is true," they told in response to Levy's allegations.
"If so it would have been at our communications team's request, but surely anyone who has ever worn a grey t-shirt can relate."
On Twitter, users reacted in shock at Levy's claims.
"The things sycophants will do for their billionaire overlords," wrote on flabbergasted user.
"If Zuckerberg sweats, that means he's actually possibly human," joked another. "Colour me shocked!"
Elsewhere in the book, Zuckerberg is depicted as being "a naive genius and robotic robber baron". according to a .
The New York native is also reportedly "consumed by his public image".
Who is Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook?
Here's what you need to know...
- Mark Zuckerberg is the chairman, CEO and co-founder of social networking giant Facebook
- Born in New York in 1984, Zuckerberg already had a "reputation as a programming prodigy" when he started college
- While at Harvard, Zuckerberg launched a site called Face Mash, on which students ranked the attractiveness of their classmates
- Harvard shut the site down after its popularity crashed a network and Zuckerberg later apologised saying it was "completely improper"
- The following term he began working on an early version of Facebook
- The 33-year-old launched the social network from his dorm room on February 4, 20o4 with the help of fellow students
- The friends would end up embroiled in legal disputes as they challenged Zuckerberg for shares in the company
- Zuckerberg also faced action from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, as well as Divya Narendra who claimed he had stolen their idea - the disagreement was later turned into the film, The Social Network
- The tech prodigy dropped out of Harvard to focus on Facebook, but received an honorary degree in 2017
- Speaking about the site to Wired magazine in 2010 he said: "The thing I really care about is the mission, making the world open"
- By 2012 Facebook had one billion users. By June 2017 it had reached two billion users every month
This obsession is mirrored by Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, who is known to scream at underlings, Levy writes.
Sandberg is depicted as a manipulative and calculating figure, reportedly faking nervousness in front of journalists to dodge tricky questions.
The Sun has reached out to Facebook for comment.
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In other news, Twitter boss Jack Dorsey claimed last year that Zuckerberg once fed him "some cold goat he knifed to death" at his California mansion.
Zuck was once forced to publicly deny that he was part of an army of lizard-people living in human form.
And, the Facebook billionaire once made a bizarre appearance in a Chinese documentary about the police.
How do you think Zuck should tackle his sweat issues? Let us know in the comments!
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