Boston University graduates roasted the hell out of David Zaslav at their commencement ceremony

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav took to the stage at Boston University’s 2023 commencement ceremony this previous weekend aspiring to obtain an honorary doctorate and to ingratiate himself with this 12 months’s graduating college students by imparting some helpful knowledge. While Zaslav bought his diploma, his speech to BU’s college students was acquired something however warmly as quite a few folks all through the crowd shouted him down in help of the WGA’s ongoing strike for higher pay and dealing circumstances.

Almost as quickly as a sunglasses-sporting Zaslav launched into an uninspired speech reminiscing about his personal time at Boston University as a legislation scholar, folks all through the commencement ceremony crowd started booing at the 63-year-old leisure government and didn’t let up till he stopped speaking virtually 20 minutes later.

“When I was announced as the speaker a few weeks ago, one of my BU buddies sent me a text,” Zaslav stated to a wave of jeers. “It said, ‘Who would have thought,’ and he was right. Who would have thought that one day I’d be up here giving you life advice? I have to admit I’m a little nervous.”

Nervous as Zaslav may need been, he tried to make use of his time to narrate to the class of 2023 by recounting how, after touchdown a job at a “big, prestigious firm” the place he was “making good money,” he discovered the work of writing prospectuses not simply tough however so deeply unfulfilling that he needed to discover a manner out. In response to Zaslav’s go at sharing life recommendation, folks all through the viewers advised him to close up and challenged him to “pay [his] writers” — messages echoed by picketers demonstrating outdoors the occasion.

“I had to find something that really interested me — something that I really loved,” Zaslav stated as somebody in the crowd shouted again, “Ruining television.” “But that was really scary. I had a lot of anxiety because I was stuck. I had an apartment, and I had to keep the job until I found something else.”

As it grew more and more clear that the crowd’s sympathies have been with the WGA, Zaslav shifted gears a bit by telling a narrative a few priceless lesson he discovered from his mentor, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, whose ruthless strategy to administration turned the firm right into a legendarily worthwhile catastrophe. The key to being profitable, Welch advised Zaslav, was realizing “how to get along with everyone, and that includes difficult people.”

“In my career, I’ve seen so many talented people lose opportunities or jobs because they couldn’t get along with others,” Zaslav stated. “You can’t choose the people that you work with. Figure out what you like about a person. There’s always something, and do what it takes to navigate their challenges. We all have them. The reality is most of us don’t pay enough attention to our weaknesses because it doesn’t feel good to think about our shortcomings, especially when we all believe that we mostly have it going on.”

So true, David. So true.

Disclosure: The Verge’s editorial workers can also be unionized with the Writers Guild of America, East.