The Washington Post reporter who sparked a newsroom firestorm by blasting the paper and a co-worker who retweeted a slightly sexist joke has been fired, according to a report. Felicia Sonmez, who openly assaulted fellow press reporter Dave Weigel on Twitter recently and after that apparently continued her attack in the newsroom’s internal Slack messaging system, was canned Thursday, The Daily Beast reported. Her termination letter pointed out “insubordination, maligning your co-workers online and violating The Post’s standards on workplace collegiality and inclusivity,” according to The New York Times.
The Harvard-educated press reporter, who covered breaking political news on the paper’s nationwide desk, did not react to ask for remark.
The shooting was the most recent twist in a newsroom legend that started with a joke.
“Every girl is bi,” went the joke from YouTuber Cam Harless that Weigel retweeted Friday. “You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual.”
We all owe a debt of gratitude to Felicia Sonmez for exposing the insane woke pandering of the WaPo management. And we can all only hope that the NYT picks you up as soon as possible, so you can do the same over there.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 9, 2022
Sonmez reacted with a tweet that faulted both Weigel and the Post.
“Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!” she wrote.
The reaction touched off a week of newsroom drama that had numerous siding with Weigel however got him suspended without spend for a complete month. Numerous associates supposedly scolded Sonmez for not keeping the concern in-house, and fellow press reporter Jose Del Real openly implicated Sonmez of “repeated and targeted public harassment of a colleague.”
CNN acquired Slack messages that revealed Sonmez tagging Weigel and composing, “I’m sorry but what is this?” She reiterated her initial complaint, saying Weigel’s retweet sent “a confusing message about what the Post’s values are.”
A contrite Weigel deleted the retweet.
“I apologize and did not mean to cause any harm,” he wrote.
Managing Editor Sally Buzbee provided a memo on Sunday attempting to soothe the waters, however, things boiled over when video reporter Breanna Muir reportedly replied-all to the memo with assistance for Sonmez and the claim that the newsroom has a “toxic work environment.”
Previously today, the paper suspended Weigel, according to CNN.
“Editors have made clear to the staff that the tweet was reprehensible and demeaning language or actions like that will not be tolerated,” spokesperson Kris Coratti told Fox News.
The drama came as The Washington Post faces criticism for numerous editorial bad moves.
For one, the outlet was just recently required to issue corrections to an articleby Taylor Lorenz that initially declared she had actually connected to 2 YouTubers, Mazeika and ThatUmbrellaGuy, pointed out in her piece. Both people stated that Lorenz never ever called them ahead of the story’s publication, and the claim was then eliminated without a correction. When Fox News asked if Lorenz herself silently made the edit, a Washington Post representative stated, “That’s not something we’d discuss on the record.”
In the exact same short article, Lorenz mistakenly associated a declaration to Johnny Depp legal representative Adam Waldman. A note on the short article stated that the story was undoubtedly “updated to clarify comments made during Waldman’s testimony.”
Two months ago, Lorenz came under fire for exposing the identity of the lady behind Libs of TikTok, which reposts leftist material on its different social networks pages. Lorenz ran a hit piece on the lady– that included her name and initially connected to individual work details, though the link was consequently eliminated from the post. Numerous individuals made death threats to the lady– a Jewish stay-at-home mom– in the wake of the doxxing.
Libs of TikTok posted photos of the Washington Post press reporter visiting her member of the family’ houses. Lorenz implicates Libs of TikTok of supposedly having “deep and far-reaching” impact, as well as “shaping right-wing media, impacting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and influencing millions by posting viral videos aimed at inciting outrage among the right.”
Daily Wire Co-CEO Jeremy Boreing signed up with podcaster and analyst Tim Pool in buying a signboard in Times Square slamming Lorenz and her company for exposing Libs of TikTok. “Hey WaPo, Democracy Dies In Darkness,” the billboard said. “That’s Why We’re Shining A Light On You. Taylor Lorenz Doxxed @LibsOfTikTok.”
After Lorenz grumbled about the signboard, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said: “So she exposes the Libs of TikTok owner to violence. But when you say her name, you’re a terrorist.”
H/T The Daily Wire
