The Daughter Of A Famous Director Who Wants To Talk To The Manager, 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 characters include a newspaper that thinks an EMT worker with an OnlyFans account is a news story, an op-ed writer who doesn't think Dr. Jill Biden should use her academic title, a New York Times best-selling author that doesn't think Jeffrey Toobin did anything wrong, the aggrieved daughter of a Hollywood director and a Hollywood A-lister going through a mid-life crisis.
Saturday
The New York Post
The character: The New York Post, a NYC-based tabloid best known for its schlocky headlines and questionable news judgment.
The plot: On Saturday, the Post ran a story profiling a New York City EMT worker named Lauren Kwei who supplemented her income with an OnlyFans account. According to Kwei, reporter Dean Balsamini misled her about the scope of the story.
I did not want the NY Post to run this article, much less use my name. When Dean Balsamini first "interviewed" me, he did not tell me what this was about until after I disclosed most of my background. He did not include in his article that I started crying on the phone when he finally did tell me what he was inquiring about. He did not include that he played this "friendly guy" reporter who just wanted to get MY side of the story, since ya know, they were gonna run it anyway, with or without my input.
The repercussion: The tabloid was roundly criticized for doxxing a first responder.
Balsamini, as well as Post reporter Susan Edelman, received the wrath of the internet over their decision to publish the story, with many people accusing them of shaming the medic.
A few days later, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also weighed in on story, saying Kwei had nothing to apologize for.
In addition to being defended by AOC, Kwei has raised over $50,000 via GoFundMe.
Later in the week, Kwei broke her silence to Rolling Stone's Ej Dickson and spoke out about her treatment by the newspaper.
The details of the newspaper's sleazy approach to Kwei shocked many.
Balsamini has since deleted his Twitter account, but the newspaper hasn't apologized for its much-maligned report.
Sunday
Joseph Epstein
The character: Joseph Epstein, former editor of The American Scholar.
The plot: On Sunday, Epstein published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal entitled "Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D." which urged incoming First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to stop using Dr., even though she has a doctoral degree in education.
"Madame First Lady — Mrs. Biden — Jill — kiddo," Epstein wrote. "Any chance you might drop the 'Dr.' before your name? 'Dr. Jill Biden' sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic."
The repercussion: Epstein's op-ed was dunked on repeatedly, with many readers characterizing his essay as condescending.
Dr. Biden implicitly responded to the op-ed in a tweet, saying she hoped to build a world where women's accomplishments are celebrated instead of diminished.
A few days later, Dr. Biden responded to the drama on Colbert's late night show.
The outcry over Epstein's op-ed had professional ramifications as well, as he was removed from Northwestern University's website. According to The Daily Beast, the school told the campus newspaper that it "strongly disagree[d] with Mr. Epstein's misogynistic views."
Epstein did have at least one defender — Tucker Carlson — though he seems to have forgotten about all the times he has referred to other non-physicians as doctor.
Tuesday
Malcolm Gladwell
The character: Malcolm Gladwell, a staff writer for The New Yorker and author of "Outliers."
The plot: On Tuesday, the New York Times published an article about the downfall of Jeffrey Toobin, who was fired for exposing himself on a Zoom video call. The article included a cameo from Gladwell, who said he was "puzzled" by Toobin's dismissal from the magazine.
Malcolm Gladwell, one of the magazine's best known contributors, said in an interview: "I read the Condé Nast news release, and I was puzzled because I couldn't find any intellectual justification for what they were doing. They just assumed he had done something terrible, but never told us what the terrible thing was. And my only feeling — the only way I could explain it — was that Condé Nast had taken an unexpected turn toward traditional Catholic teaching." (Mr. Gladwell then took out his Bible and read to a reporter an allegory from Genesis 38 in which God strikes down a man for succumbing to the sin of self-gratification.)
The repercussion: Gladwell's defense of Toobin was called into question by many of his journalist colleagues who had no time for his excuses.
Despite the outcry, Gladwell refrained from further commenting on Twitter.
Wednesday
Hallie Meyers-Shyer
The character: Hallie Meyers-Shyer, filmmaker and daughter of Nancy Meyers.
The plot: For "Nancy Meyers Week," Vulture published an article by Rachel Handler entitled "A Chaotic Taxonomy of the Nancy Meyers Universe." Meyers-Shyer cried foul on Instagram, accusing Handler of being sexist and saying the article felt "all sorts of wrong."
The repercussion: Meyers-Shyer's post hit like a nuclear warhead on media Twitter.
Many celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling vehemently defended Meyers-Shyer's response.
Others like Tavi Gevinson took the side of the Vulture reporter.
Others ribbed Meyers-Shyer for her outrage over the article.
Meyers-Shyer later set her Instagram profile to private. Her mom has yet to weigh in on the drama.
Thursday
Tyler Perry
The character: Tyler Perry, producer/director/actor, best known for his Madea movies.
The plot: On Thursday, Perry took a selfie and captioned it "This is what a midlife crisis looks like. I'm 51, single and wondering what the next chapter in my life will look like."
The repercussion: Perry's thirst trap made him a rare favorable main character on Twitter, with dozens of his single followers posting their own selfies in response.
Lifehacker even hailed Perry's tweet as an "underused asset in a social media novice's quest for love and romance."
Read last week's One Main Character column which included an exercise equipment CEO who admits he drinks like a cat, a former Macy's employee-turned-author who thinks customers should be able to fire sales associates and more.
Did we miss a main character from this week? Please send tips to [email protected].
