Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg want you to know that they are still friends and not mad at each other

on Thursday, The New York Times published a lengthy story on the rise of Stephen Miller, a longtime Donald Trump supporter known for his strong views on immigration. Normally, a story like that wouldn’t get much attention in the tech press. But the piece opened with an anecdote about Mark Zuckerberg that immediately raised eyebrows.

The story details a recent meeting Miller had with Zuckerberg when the Meta CEO went to Mar-a-Lago last year. In accordance with The TimesZuckerberg – who will quickly reject Meta’s previous fact-checking efforts and reject various corporate plans – “accused his former chief executive, Sheryl Sandberg, of an inclusive initiative on Facebook that encourages employees to express themselves at work.”

That line set off a new round of speculation (and some anger) in tech circles. Sandberg, who left Meta in 2022 and became famous after endorsing her women in the workplace manifesto. It depends onhe was known for his partnership with Zuckerberg at the top of Facebook. That Zuckerberg would blame his former lieutenant for promoting his company’s “inclusivity” has raised eyebrows even among longtime company watchers.

“He always knew who Mark Zuckerberg was and covered for him,” New York Times journalist Sheera Frankel, who co-wrote a book about Facebook’s dominance, commented on Bluesky. “The question is whether he will continue to do that when he throws him under the (Trump) bus.” Journalist and longtime tech expert Kara Swisher also noted that “the people I spoke to this evening during the Mark/Sheryl Facebook episode were shocked but not surprised by her accusations.”

I also moderate on my Threads account, sharing a link to a Business Insider The February story cited an interview in which Zuckerberg said Sandberg had raised him “like a parent.” I joked that the comment hadn’t aged well.

But on Friday, Zuckerberg decided to let me (and I think everyone else) know that he and Sandberg are still cool, after all. “Sheryl has done an amazing job at Meta and will always be a legend in the industry,” he wrote in response to my post. “He built one of the biggest businesses ever and taught me a lot of what I know.”

A few minutes later, Sandberg jumped in to let me know there were no hard feelings on her part, either. “Thank you, @zuck. I will always be grateful for the many years we spent building a great business together – and for your friendship that got me through some of the hardest times in my life and continues to this day.”

Zuckerberg responded with a single heart emoji.

I asked Zuckerberg if he felt Sandberg was too focused on DEI’s plans at Meta, or if he took away the “male power” he recently told Joe Rogan’s companies should incorporate. Remarkably, he did not deny it The Times’ reporting about her comments about Sandberg, though she said they were misunderstood.

“I answered the question of where the phrase ‘bring your whole self to work’ came from, and now there is a fake history that says I accused Sheryl of a bunch of things I never did and wouldn’t do,” he said. (Bringing your “whole person” to work is a slogan popularized by Sandberg in It depends on. Similar language often appears on Meta’s careers site where the company highlights diversity among its employees. “Being your true self is at the core of who we are as a company,” Meta wrote on a since-deleted page of the company’s website where it shared its internal diversity reports.)

So, I think that solves it. Nothing to see here folks. Mark and Sheryl are definitely still friends. They may no longer work at the same company, but they can still get together to solve a potential PR problem. What could be more motivating than that?

Update, January 17, 2025, 4PM PT: This post has been updated to reflect additional comments from Zuckerberg.