A hot potato: Mark Zuckerberg has undergone something of a personal transformation over the last few years, from a nerdy, lizard-like tech geek to an MMA-loving bro championing free speech and calling for more masculine energy. It's a change that has prompted a lawyer to drop Meta as a client due to its CEO's "descent into toxic masculinity and Neo-Nazi madness."
Stanford law professor Mark Lemley represented Meta in a 2023 copyright case in which the company used a data set containing copyrighted e-books to train its LLMs, something it says should be considered fair use.
But Lemley won't be representing Meta any longer. In a LinkedIn post, he says he has now fired the firm as a client, as he cannot in good conscience serve as its lawyer any longer.
While Lemley says he still believes Meta is on the right side of the AI copyright battle and hopes it wins the legal fight, his problem is with Zuckerberg and his "mid-life crisis."
Lemley said he won't be deactivating his Facebook account because of the friends and connections he has on the platform. However, he has left Threads in favor of Bluesky, which many people joined after leaving X/Twitter, and will no longer buy anything from the ads he sees on Facebook or Instagram.
Zuckerberg's evolution can be traced back to the pandemic. Like many people who were bored during the lockdowns, he started a new hobby in the summer of 2020. His choice was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which later expanded to include other MMA disciplines. He has since competed in a BJJ tournament and trained with some of UFC's best fighters. For a while, it appeared that Zuckerberg was going to fight Elon Musk, but the match never happened.
Zuckerberg seems to have become even more like Musk since Trump was re-elected. He recently said Facebook and Instagram would be getting rid of "politically biased" third-party fact checkers in favor of X-style community notes, while also eliminating its DEI programs. The CEO complained that there has been "too much censorship" on the social media sites.
Zuckerberg showed off his new persona during his recent appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, where he said that companies need more "masculine energy."
@thenewsmovement Mark Zuckerberg told Joe Rogan corporate culture had lost its 'masculine energy'. The CEO of Meta was talking after he had just announced that UFC's Dana White would now be on the board of Meta. Rogan is a commentator for UFC and a long time friend of White's. Zuckerberg spoke to Rogan for nearly three hours and the pair discussed their love of martial arts, sparking Zuckerberg's comments about masculinity. Zuckerberg said that corporate culture had become 'neutered'. #meta #zuckerberg #joerogan #markzuckerberg ♬ original sound - The News Movement
"I think a lot of the corporate world is pretty culturally neutered. Masculine energy is good, and obviously, society has plenty of that, but I think corporate culture was really trying to get away from it," Zuckerberg said. "I think having a culture that celebrates the aggression a bit more has its own merits that are really positive."
One of the three men Meta just added to its board was Dana White, the CEO of UFC, who is about as masculine as it gets.
Lawyer drops Meta as client, citing Mark Zuckerberg's "toxic masculinity and Neo-Nazi madness"
