- Satya Nadella congratulated Seattle Seahawks on their Super Bowl win calling Seattle his hometown
- Social media users criticized Nadella's tweet citing his Indian heritage and Hyderabad upbringing
- Critics accused Nadella of hypocrisy over his Indian roots and American residency
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella faced racist backlash on social media after he posted a tweet congratulating the Seattle Seahawks on their Super Bowl victory. While the tech leader expressed excitement for "our hometown" and "our city," many social media users dragged his Indian roots, claiming the description was inaccurate due to his heritage. Notably, Nadella has lived in the Seattle area for over three decades and is a well-known fan of local teams.
Following the Seattle Seahawks' 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots at Levi's Stadium, Nadella posted on X, " Congrats to our hometown Super Bowl champs @Seahawks! So thrilled for our city and the 12s!"
The term "12s" refers to the "12th man" tradition of Seahawks fans, where the crowd's energy is considered an extra player on the field.
See the tweet here:
However, many on X targeted Nadella's Indian background and his upbringing in Hyderabad. Multiple users commented on his post, stating, "Your hometown is Hyderabad, bruh," and "It's not your hometown".
Some users accused him of hypocrisy, suggesting he was "living off US resources" while maintaining Indian "roots, culture, and family ties." Another user wrote, "But your hometown is somewhere in India, and your people are Indians. That is why you discriminate against American workers."
About Satya Nadella
Satya Nadella is one of the most influential business leaders of the 21st century. He was born in Hyderabad in 1967. Raised in a Telugu-speaking family, his father was an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, and his mother was a Sanskrit lecturer.
He attended Hyderabad Public School and earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology in 1988 before moving to the US for higher education. He earned a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1990 and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1997.
After a brief stint at Sun Microsystems, Nadella joined Microsoft in 1992 and spent over two decades working across its enterprise, cloud, and platform businesses. He became CEO in 2014 and pushed Microsoft to embrace cloud computing, open-source software, and cross-platform collaboration. Under his leadership, Azure became a global cloud powerhouse, Microsoft acquired LinkedIn and GitHub, and the company re-emerged as a serious force in AI, productivity, and enterprise technology.
Nadella often credits his Indian upbringing for shaping his leadership style and values. In a 2014 interview, he said, "My upbringing in India, the values, the curiosity, the hunger to learn - it's a big part of who I am."
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, in 2022.
