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Sean Rad: Tinder CEO fired, drew a d**k on Barry Diller

THIS is how you get yourself fired from a lucrative CEO job. Fratboy antics probably won’t impress your powerful billionaire boss.

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 03: Justin Mateen, CMO Tinder (L) and Sean Rad, CEO Tinder, attend a party to celebrate Glamour Hearts Tinder hosted by Glamour Magazine and Tinder at Chateau Marmont's Bar Marmont on February 3, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Glamour)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 03: Justin Mateen, CMO Tinder (L) and Sean Rad, CEO Tinder, attend a party to celebrate Glamour Hearts Tinder hosted by Glamour Magazine and Tinder at Chateau Marmont's Bar Marmont on February 3, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Glamour)

BARRY Diller was just biding his time.

Tinder co-founder and CEO Sean Rad — who allegedly described billionaire Diller, the head of parent company IAC/InterActiveCorp, as a d**k along with a picture to illustrate the insult — is finally headed for the exit.

IAC, Tinder’s largest stakeholder, is looking for a CEO with more gravitas to replace the 27-year-old Rad, who will stay on until the company finds “an Eric Schmidt-like person” to replace him, Forbes reported on Tuesday.

Rad’s penis put-down emerged in July as part of an explosive lawsuit filed by Whitney Wolfe, a former Tinder executive who says she was sexually harassed by Rad and fellow co-founder Justin Mateen. The latter resigned in September, the same month the suit was settled.

But Rad stayed on as CEO for nearly four months after allegations emerged that he texted a photo of a drawing of Diller’s initials, “BD,” formed into the shape of a penis, and tolerated other frat-house antics.

You don’t mess with Barry Diller.
You don’t mess with Barry Diller.

Now it looks like Diller was just waiting for the suit to go away before getting rid of Rad.

Rad told Forbes he learned of his fate last month from Sam Yagan, the head of IAC’s Match Group, just as he was preparing to take the stage at Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia.

“I went through every stage of mourning at once — fear, a bruised ego,” he told the magazine. “I started thinking about the company and my whole future.”

The move comes as the matchmaking mobile app readies Tinder Plus, which promises better pairing prowess and premium content like a travel feature.

This article originally appeared on The New York Post.

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/sean-rad-tinder-ceo-fired-drew-a-dk-on-barry-diller/news-story/366d9245c0aa4efa62fdf64ab718912d