Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz To Michael Arrington: 'F**k Off'

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is known for being outspoken, blunt, and often R-rated with her language.

When she took the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt today, she did not disappoint.

As TechCrunch's MG Siegler reports in his live notes from the event, "it took about 15 minutes, but Mike got her to tell him to 'fuck off.'"

According to live blogs from TechCrunch and the Wall Street Journal, the expletive came shortly after Michael Arrington challenged Bartz's accomplishments at Yahoo by comparing them to Steve Jobs' at Apple.

"I've been at this company 16 months [...] I'm supposed to have an iPod, an iPad an iBlah," she said in her defense.

Here's what followed:

Carol Bartz: You are involved in a very tiny company.

Michal Arrington: Very tiny.

Carol Bartz: And it probably takes a long time to even convince yourself what the hell to do. I don't want to hear any crap [...] about something magical that the fine people of Yahoo are supposed to do in this short time so fuck off. [...] That one I meant.

Many praised Bartz's outspokenness. Guy Kawasaki, a Silicon Valley VC and Twitterer-extraordinaire, tweeted in response, "If this transcript is accurate, and one never knows with TechCrunch, I respect Carol Bartz even more now.." @GlennF tweeted, "I especially like how Carol Bartz doesn't play the marketing-speak messaged CEO. She destroys Arrington there." Another, @Segphault, wrote in a tweet, "Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is awesome."

See the interview in the video below. Can't make it to TechCrunch Disrupt? Here's how to watch live.

WATCH:

Comments

[brettrobbins]

01:39 AM on 05/27/2010

Image matters. Bartz has managed to single-handedly sink Yahoo's image into the gutter. YHOO shareholders should be outraged that such an uncouth virago is running their company.

[Pema]

05:21 AM on 05/27/2010

so nothing aobut the gutter snipe who baited her who happens to be a man?

[brettrobbins]

07:31 AM on 05/27/2010

Relax, knee-jerk Defender of All Women: If she happened to be a man I would have been just as likely to use a gender-specific pejorative to describe the male CEO of a company whose executive ignorance cost his shareholders millions of dollars the way Bartz did. I don't care if it's a man, woman, or rock: she absolutely stinks as CEO of this company, and her potty-mouthed antics are like a kick in the teeth to those who invested their hard-earned dollars in what used to be the great company she for some unfathomable reason was given the reins to.

[Juan Contreras]

10:08 PM on 05/26/2010

This chick is crazy. Probably the dumbest CEO I have ever seen.

ROFL...She called Google a one trick pony.

[StinkyBush]

09:39 PM on 05/26/2010

Why hold this CEO to a higher standard than our former President who said this very same thing to Sen. Leahy on the Senate floor? Perhaps she learned it from our former VP....

[1other1]

07:56 PM on 05/26/2010

Classy woman.

[blueballs]

06:21 PM on 05/26/2010

Some things you just don't do. This is one of them.

The point is not the sentiment. The point is not the provoking event. The point is not that the woman has the lack of vocabulary and upbringing and, well, class to use such language in private. The point is that she, as a respected representative of a respected company, used this language in public. It not only speaks volumes about her, but also about her mama and her education.

The screening process for CEO's is supposed to weed out such character flaws. Evidently, not always.

[Pema]

05:24 AM on 05/27/2010

oy look at your sn and icon and your worried about her upbringing? and your putting down her mother.
banging head on keyboard

[Joe Buhler]

06:03 PM on 05/26/2010

Everybody wants authenticity, especially from CEOs. So,if that's her usual style, sure, why not. As for the digirati pundits a la Arrington, they'll just have to suck it up and take what they dish out. Have no problem with that.

[only livin boy in NY]

05:37 PM on 05/26/2010

I think im in love

[joocee102]

05:26 PM on 05/26/2010

Yahoo is looking pretty solid, in my humble opinion. Yahoo totally revamped its interface. I find yahoo to usually be the first in breaking news, followed by Gawkers, then the Huff. Yahoo tech is lacking in creating a specific category for cell/smart-phone news and all other tech stuff. Considering how far Yahoo has come since when they were trying to sell widgets I'd have to say they're making progress, again in my humble opinion.

[PCMinistry]

01:26 PM on 05/26/2010

Good. This is better than the canned speak we usually get. She didn't like what he had to say so she expressed herself honestly. Because she represents a large corporation everyone will find a reason to hate her for this. But I think it was great. Of course someone from the PC camp will come around to demanding her public apology, as is the modus operandi when exercising the raw power that comes with being a PC bully. I hope she resists the urge to give in to that. F off.

[brettrobbins]

12:39 PM on 05/26/2010

Classy. Glad I dumped YHOO stock months ago and switched instead to companies run by people who don't confuse a potty mouth with effective executive skills.

[Giverny]

05:04 PM on 05/26/2010

Wi qt tkng drty = phkn yhoos @ toute lamonde

[only livin boy in NY]

05:38 PM on 05/26/2010

ull b missed

[jugglergal]

11:46 AM on 05/26/2010

Big Deal...can we have some real news.

[brettrobbins]

01:02 PM on 05/26/2010

It's news alright: more evidence for the gradual demise of a once great technology company.

[JohnStuartMill]

02:43 PM on 05/26/2010

Real news? This is Huffpo ... don't hold your breath.

[garystartswithg]

11:32 AM on 05/26/2010

what does techcrunch disrupt mean anyway? why is corporate america so overly willing to destroy everything in its path including the english language?

[getoffmedz]

10:19 AM on 05/26/2010

Just quoting Cheney in part.

heh

[Owen Rowley]

10:05 AM on 05/26/2010

Obviously many of the commenters here are completely unaware of the time honored tradition of potty mouthed Tech CEO's. Bill Gates was the king, he would whip up a storm of F Bombs at sonic levels that could shake the room. And those commenting about Carol Bartz's cred as a CEO know nothing about her history or her style. She has always been a no nonsense - take no prisoners leader for decades. So some over caffeinated blog boy thought he would make his bones intimidating her eh ? She's been eviscerating corporate sharks and displaying their guts on poles since he was in short pants. He was out of his league. This is exactly the Carol Bartz I knew @ Autodesk, and exactly the kind of player it takes to navigate the perilous waters of the industry

[PCMinistry]

01:27 PM on 05/26/2010

Favorited.

[Cryostatic]

09:08 AM on 05/26/2010

Oh my god! Stop the presses! Somebody said "fuсk".

Why is this worthy of a full-spread banner two days running?