Bartz’s comments about Yahoo’s board could cost her money — like $10M

Former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz might be at risk of losing money from her severance package due to offensive comments made about company’s board of directors in an interview published Thursday.

Yahoo put a non-disparagement clause in Bartz’s employment contract, according a report by Fortune that cites an unnamed source with close ties to the company. If that clause is violated, Yahoo can deny Bartz the lucrative payout of $10 million for her termination.

Bartz, who spent 32 months as CEO of Yahoo, called Yahoo’s board a bunch of “doofuses” in an email to the company’s employees. In her first public interview since the firing, she told Fortune that the board “fucked me over” and proceeded to criticize the company’s decision to remove her from the position.

Given Bartz’s colorful history of offensive — and often profane — public remarks, it would make perfect sense for Yahoo to add a non-disparagement clause to her contract.

The only question that remains is whether Bartz actually violated that clause with her comments earlier in the week.