“Brené Brown…has made her name and career out of embracing empathy and vulnerability,” says an April 6 story about her, published in The Financial Times – which has now disappeared.
Brown was so badly misquoted in the story, to the point that Emma Jacobs, who published the piece, has said on Linkedin: “Thanks to Brené Brown for the great chat – and pointing out the error. Huge apologies. All journalists hate corrections, but this is my maddest mishearing.”
Jacobs’ apology was in response to Bob Sutton from Stanford university, said: “Last week, I posted about Brene Brown’s candid and compelling interview in the Financial Times. Well, looks like the FT made a little boo-boo, which is pretty funny.”
So, what was this error – which was not remotely “little”, but one of epic proportions?
Sutton observed: “The words ‘in my f*ck it era’ aren’t much different than ‘in my f*cking era.’ But there is a world of difference in the meaning of the two phrases.
“I still admire Brené Brown and the FT just as much, and, well, it is hard to get every little thing right in life.”
Brené Brown is in not in her ‘f*cking era’
The Financial Times story read when it was published: “Brown, who turned 60 in November and describes herself as “solidly in my f*cking era”, scatters her speech variously with expletives and long pauses while she weighs her thoughts.”
Brown had to reach out to Jacobs to correct her, and the story, to read: “solidly in my f*ck it era.”
Sutton is right. There certainly is a world of difference in the meaning between the quotes.
Having said that, no one should judge Brown if she is indeed in both eras. It’s 2026, after all.
Who is Brené Brown?
As the FT story said, “After her TED talk, The Power of Vulnerability, went viral in 2010, she forged a lucrative career talking to audiences, readers and business leaders on how to deal with emotions such as shame and courage.
“Her umbrella business, the Brené Brown Education and Research Group, contains various strands: coaching programmes, research and speaking engagements. As well as multiple books, including her latest, Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, Brown had a podcast with celebrity guests, including former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, psychoanalyst Esther Perel, and U2 singer Bono.
“In 2019, Netflix released the kind of special (Brené Brown: The Call to Courage) usually reserved for big-name comedians. She also trains coaches…and advises chief executives on leadership.”
Now, let’s all get the visual of the super accomplished Brown being in a “f*cking era” out of our minds – as she wishes.
Top image: Brené Brown misquoted in error of epic proportions