28-Year-Old Boss Debates Firing 19-Year-Old Employee After Finding Her Public Tweets Criticizing Her and The Company: 'My Boss is so Tacky.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jul 8, 2026 8:30 PM EDT

Should she fire her for talking trash about her, even though she has proven herself to be an incredibly strong employee? 

If your best friend told you that they got fired from their job, what would you assume? Would you assume that their boss is evil and made an utterly misguided decision? Or would you assume that your bestie said or did something that got them fired rightfully? Your answer to that question depends a lot on your best friend's personality. We all have someone in our lives who we think might get fired because they can't keep their mouth shut, and if that person is loudly complaining about how awful their job is, you might not be the most inclined to believe them. 

Even if someone is even-keeled and generally professional, you can't assume that they got fired for no reason at all. People do things at work that can get them fired all the time. It's also true that many employers have absurdly low standards for behavior they consider "fireable." An employer might fire an employee for using their personal computer to answer a company email on the weekend because they left their work computer at the office. Usually, something like that, if it's against company policy, might result in an employee getting a firm talking-to on Monday morning, with the expectation that they never do it again. If you fire employees for the most minor mistakes, you'll end up throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Soon enough, you won't have any employees to fire. 

The employee in this story didn't make a minor mistake. She made a mistake that should probably cost her her job.

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  • A young employee at a tech company, who doesn't yet know that her boss knows what she posted about her on social media.
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A young employee at a tech company, who doesn't yet know that her boss knows what she posted about her on social media.

    The photo is a representation of one of the characters in this story. It does not feature the real subject.

  • Am I the bad guy for wanting to fire an employee after finding out she talks trash about me online?

    I'm 28F and I work at a tech company. A few years ago, I met this girl, now 19F, at another job. I thought she was really good at what she did, so when I had the chance, I brought her onto my team.
    via u/GooseOnly1150
  • She's been doing a solid job so far. No complaints about her work. The issue is that IT flagged some searches she made on her work computer. I honestly didn't want to know, because
    via u/GooseOnly1150
  • yeah, privacy, but my company has strict policies about this stuff. The searches were kind of ridiculous, like "my boss is unbearable." Then I found out she has a public Twitter
    via u/GooseOnly1150
  • account where she talks a lot of crop about the company and about me specifically. Now HR is asking me to make a serious decision. On one hand, she should've
    via u/GooseOnly1150
  • known better. You can't use company equipment and public social media to bash your boss and employer. That's just dumb. On the other hand, I feel bad because she seems to really need the
    via u/GooseOnly1150
  • money, and she's actually good at her job. So, AITA for wanting to fire her?
    via u/GooseOnly1150
  • EDIT: I'm her boss, and I'm responsible for her. And what she said about me was stuff like "my boss is so tacky" and "my boss needs to touch up her salon dye job."
    via u/GooseOnly1150
  • A hair stylist fixes the roots of one of his blonde clients whose roots have grown in a couple of inches.
    via Jayson Hinrichsen (Unsplash+)

    A hair stylist fixes the roots of one of his blonde clients whose roots have grown in a couple of inches. 

    Situation depicted by models. 

  • So yeah, mostly comments about my appearance, which I was honestly embarrassed to even mention lol.
    via u/GooseOnly1150
  • As for the company, it was more normal workplace complaints, like salary and stuff.
    via u/GooseOnly1150
  • BraveWarrior-55 19 is a good age to learn discretion, not biting the hand that feeds you, and interpersonal skills to communicate needs. Once she is fired, that will hopefully propel her to mature a bit.
    via u/BraveWarrior-55
  • MattDaveys And there's no chance she isn't aware that the internet isn't anonymous. I grew up on the internet right as "cancel culture" began and was always told that employers will see your social media. There's no way someone who grew up with people getting canceled for social media posts isn't aware that it can bite her in the a at her job.
    via u/MattDaveys
  • UniversalLilies i don't see how you don't fire her. She knows she needs money, and she should have been smarter than to air her dirty laundry in public and on her company computer.
    via u/UniversalLilies
  • Think Poetry4992 This! With all due respect that's what happy hour with friends is for.
    via u/Think_Poetry4992
  • A group of girlfriends gets together for drinks after work to complain about their bosses away from the office.
    via Curated Lifestyle (Unsplash+)

    A group of girlfriends gets together for drinks after work to complain about their bosses away from the office. 

    Models represent the scenario.

  • bi_polar2bear HR needs to decide if the employee is breaking rules about making disparaging remarks. Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences. If rules were broken, then a write up is at least warranted.
    via u/bi_polar2bear
  • Chancelmagination456 This "freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences", more people need to understand this. Can't just say whatever on social media what you say can affect your job!
    via u/Chancelmagination456

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