‘Be Well, Sweetheart’: Indian-Origin Man’s Sexist Message to British CEO Goes Viral, Sparks Outrage

A British CEO recently took to LinkedIn to share a misogynistic message sent by an Indian-origin man during a conversation.

Louisa Klouda, CEO of Fenchurch Legal, posted a screenshot of her exchange with Nirmal Patel, who dismissed her offer to get on a call, stating that he tends not to work with women. His response further angered the CEO as he signed off with, “Be well, sweetheart.”

Patel describes himself as a “London-based SFO deal syndicate middleman” on LinkedIn.

How Did the Incident Unfold?

Last year, Patel sent Klouda a message saying, “Happy to take a call as I don’t like to connect without knowing the person.”

After not receiving a response, he sent a single question mark on January 6.

The CEO of Fenchurch Legal then responded, saying:

“Hi Nirmal, I hope you’re well. Happy New Year. Would you be available for a Teams call next week at some point? If so, please share times and days that are convenient for you.”

Patel is now being slammed for his misogynistic response, as he replied:

“Thanks, as interesting and successful as your business is, I tend not to work with women. Be well, sweetheart.”

Slamming the sexist nature of the message, Louisa Klouda wrote in her LinkedIn post:

“Well, I woke up today and learned something groundbreaking: Some people still think women shouldn’t be in business. Wild. It’s 2025, we’ve got AI writing novels, people vacationing in space, and yet… here we are.”

“As a woman in business, I could let outdated thinking get me down, but instead, I’ll do what women have been doing for centuries, keep succeeding, keep breaking barriers, and keep proving that competence has NO gender,” she continued.

“To my fellow women (and men) in business: Keep being brilliant. Keep making deals. Keep leading. And to those who ‘tend not to work with women’, best of luck finding success without half the world’s talent.”

Social Media Reacts

Social media users quickly flocked to the comments section to call out the man’s outdated mindset.

“It’s disgusting to read this conversation. As a father of a young daughter, it’s disappointing. Gender neutrality must be practiced. A real man always respects a woman,” one user wrote.

Another person remarked, “It’s so pathetic to see such glaring misogyny. Don’t let it bother you too much—you bring so much to the table regardless of people like that.”

“Oh, what a misogynistic man. I’m sure his mother, sister, or partner would be shocked at such views,” another user added.

A third user commented, “The views of Nirmal on women have no place in today’s world. Thank you for sharing something so insane, it’s hard to comprehend that people still exist who (1) have those views and (2) are willing to commit them to writing on a business forum.”

Another comment read, “He has no idea women are more capable than men. This guy is ignorant and living in an illusion. God bless him with intelligence.”