Mark Zuckerberg took a sip of Guinness the other day, and the internet noticed immediately. Specifically, a short clip from the Meta founder’s appearance on a podcast called The Cheeky Pint—which involves talking tech over a casual beer with host and Stripe cofounder John Collison—caught his notably unenthusiastic facial expression in response to the famous Irish stout. He looks, as one observer put it, as if he has just accidentally swallowed the little paper cup of fluoride at the dentist’s office.
It is a funny, highly relatable reaction for anyone who has ever forced themselves to try a beverage they simply do not enjoy. But what is the big deal? Mark Zuckerberg is certainly not the first person to discover that a heavy, bitter stout like Guinness just isn’t for everybody. So why did the internet dub this moment the "Guinness Wince" and morph it into a widespread viral roasting across social media platforms?
The answer likely lies in who is doing the wincing. As the head of Meta, Zuckerberg is surreally rich and powerful, remaining effectively cloistered and out of reach from most of the routine frictions of everyday life. Like his billionaire peers, he inhabits spaces he tightly controls, whether that means sprawling mansions, massive yachts, and private jets, or environments where his public appearance is carefully choreographed, such as congressional hearings, major product unveils, or viral stunts involving hydrofoils and American flags. Meanwhile, other people literally make Hollywood movies speculating about various phases of his career and personal evolution. Seeing a master of the global corporate universe do something as fundamentally human and unfiltered as wince at an unfamiliar or unappealing brew is just… weird to the average internet user.
In a way, these rare, unscripted incidents function as a modern litmus test for authenticity, and maybe even basic normality. The last similarly high-profile example of a corporate leader facing this kind of digital scrutiny was the promotional clip of McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski gingerly biting into the fast-food chain’s then-new Big Arch burger. Again, the internet noticed almost instantly and judged Kempczinski to be a man who clearly does not eat fast food as part of his regular routine. Competing fast-food giants Burger King and Wendy’s noticed too, swiftly offering their own videos of top executives taking ravenous, enthusiastic burger bites, effectively converting the physical, everyday act of consumption into a brand-reputation performance.
These viral moments do not always read like the actions of confused aliens trying to blend in with humanity, however. Elon Musk has, not surprisingly, made his own distinct mark in this informal genre with fully characteristic displays of excess, knocking back three beers in a single sitting during his own appearance on The Cheeky Pint, and infamously puffing a blunt during a wide-ranging interview on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
On the other end of the spectrum, NVIDIA chief Jensen Huang has turned his public food moments into deliberate signals of accessibility and cultural curiosity. Huang has been frequently recorded eating humble Beijing street noodles and Korean fried chicken, and even handing out red bean buns to onlookers in Tokyo. There is even a dedicated website entirely devoted to tracking his various food forays around the globe.
Yet, for most corporate billionaires, such intense public scrutiny over routine human activities is more of an awkward adjustment than a calculated PR strategy. Politicians, for whom performing everyday normality is a core and calculated part of the grueling electoral process, learn the tricks of public consumption early in their careers. They master the art of hoisting a beer with salt-of-the-earth gusto, while carefully avoiding classic political gaffes such as eating pizza with a fork or being photographed having anything awkwardly to do with a messy county fair corn dog. Corporate chief executive officers, in stark contrast, are never required to rub elbows with the hoi polloi or prove their culinary down-to-earth credentials to the voting public, making these rare slips in controlled environments all the more fascinating to watch unfold online.
