A '90s Actor Who Got Roasted By CNN For Downplaying COVID-19, And More Of This Week's 'One Main Character'
Every day somebody says or does something that earns them the scorn of the internet. Here at Digg, as part of our mission to curate what the internet is talking about right now, we rounded up the main characters on Twitter from this past week and held them accountable for their actions.
This week's main characters include a guy who thinks all Latin food is "hot garbage," a rich socialite who took her family and friends to a private island for her birthday during a global pandemic, a woman who thinks acronyms should be reserved for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a guy who quit his job in the most dramatic way possible and an actor who maybe shouldn't have picked a fight with CNN.
Monday
@YouChattin
The character: @YouChattin, a guy from the Dominican Republic.
The plot: @YouChattin tweeted out a map of Central and South America, claiming that "any food from the circled spots is hot garbage."
The repercussion: Latin Twitter went after @YouChattin with a vengeance for his culinary opinions, prodding him to delete his hot take.
Dishonorable Mention
Amy Siskind
The character: Amy Siskind, anti-Trump activist and author.
The plot: After Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed as the next Supreme Court justice by the United States Senate on Monday night, Siskind requested that people refrain from referring to her as ACB, claiming that doing so did a disservice to the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
"Please use 'Barrett' not ACB," Siskind tweeted. "She is the antithesis of all RBG stood for."
Others chimed in that RBG's nickname "came from the street."
The repercussion: Siskind's tweet imploring folks to stop using ACB earned her mockery from both the left and the right, as the Notorious RBG moniker is, of course, a play on rapper The Notorious B.I.G. Ginsburg's nickname was popularized by New York University law student Shana Knizhnik's Tumblr and bestselling book.
Numerous politicos, among others, dunked on Siskind for her hot take.
Tuesday
Kim Kardashian
The character: Kim Kardashian, socialite, television personality and entrepreneur.
The plot: Kardashian trumpeted the details of her over-the-top 40th birthday festivities wherein she and her closest friends and family celebrated the occasion on a tropical island "where (they) could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time."
The repercussion: Many netizens felt Kardashian's boasts about her extravagant frivolities during a global pandemic lacked sensitivity, especially as people continue to suffer.
Kardashian's much-derided explanation instantly went viral and the copypasta of her tweet was shared by countless celebrities, brands and even museums.
It also earned her the distinction of being Digg's meme of the week.
The backlash got so intense that Khloé Kardashian went on Ellen DeGeneres to defend her beleaguered sister.
Thursday
Glenn Greenwald
The character: Glenn Greenwald, co-founding editor of The Intercept, constitutional lawyer and journalist who helped break the Edward Snowden whistleblower story in 2013.
The plot: On Thursday, Greenwald resigned (some would say self-yeeted) from The Intercept, the publication he helped found, claiming an article he was writing about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had been "censored."
"The Intercept's editors, in violation of my contractual right of editorial freedom, censored an article I wrote this week, refusing to publish it unless I remove all sections critical of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, the candidate vehemently supported by all New-York-based Intercept editors involved in this effort at suppression," Greenwald wrote on his Substack.
The repercussion: Greenwald's claim that he was censored did not find much sympathy on Twitter, with many reaching for the popcorn as the messy media drama unfolded.
The Intercept responded to Greenwald's claims, calling them "preposterous."
"It is Glenn who has strayed from his original journalistic roots, not The Intercept," the publication wrote.
Greenwald's self-demotion to Substack drew many guffaws from media Twitter.
Greenwald defended his resignation by saying that Intercept editors "outlined what the publication would allow and not allow in his article," but that explanation didn't elicit much rapport among his media compatriots.
And the coup de grace was that Greenwald decided to cap his night off with an appearance on Tucker Carlson's show.
Friday
Kirstie Alley
The character: Kirstie Alley, actor and star of the show "Cheers."
The plot: Alley criticized CNN's coverage of the coronavirus, saying her "personal friends who walk around in SHEER TERROR of contracting Covid are simply CNN viewers."
The repercussion: Alley's tweet earned one of the sickest burns of all time from CNN's PR department.
Read last week's One Main Character column, which includes the Fort Bragg Twitter account, a guy who doesn't like fatherly displays of affection, and Jeffrey Toobin.
Did we miss a main character from this week? Please send tips to [email protected]
