‘Cruel Joke’: Twitter Users Slam WaPo’s ‘Crazy’ Suspension of Dave Weigel
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The Washington Post suspended Dave Weigel for one month without pay on Monday after the reporter retweeted a sexist joke that he later apologized for.
Many Twitter users – particularly blue checkmarks working in media – took to the platform and expressed their displeasure with the move.
On Friday, Weigel retweeted a post from a YouTuber stating, “Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual.”
Washington Post reporter Felicia Sonmez tweeted a screenshot showing Weigel had retweeted the remark:
Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed! pic.twitter.com/zs4dX4qprH
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 3, 2022
Eleven minutes later, Weigel explained he un-retweeted the tweet. Twenty minutes after that, he apologized.
“I just removed a retweet of an offensive joke,” he said. “I apologize and did not mean to cause any harm.”
Somnez herself has previously been suspended by the publication in an unrelated matter. Shortly after Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in 2020, she tweeted a link to a sexual assault claim against the NBA star. The Post’s executive editor said Sonmez showed a “lack of judgment.”
Weigel’s apology did little to placate Sonmez, who kept tweeting about the incident over the weekend.
On Monday, CNN’s Oliver Darcy reported that the Post had suspended Weigel for one month, without pay.
Some on Twitter expressed their dismay and even outrage at the suspension.
Ok. This is crazy. Washington Post has now suspended Dave Weigel for a month without pay for retweeting a silly joke. https://t.co/IY7JSIGM2U
— Christina Sommers (@CHSommers) June 6, 2022
Dave Weigel isn’t just a great political reporter, he’s a good guy who goes out of his way to be compassionate and fair-minded to both his subjects and his readers. Those who are trying to reduce him to a dumb dad joke he didn’t even write reveal more about themselves than him.
— Leighton Woodhouse (@lwoodhouse) June 6, 2022
This is ridiculous. https://t.co/QwU9EsGeLQ
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) June 6, 2022
Same here. And I was just some random Florida blogger who had a little website I created by googling “how do I make a blog.”
I remember how people treated me when I had zero power and influence. That matters. https://t.co/OvcjGzvOqm
— Sarah Rumpf 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@rumpfshaker) June 6, 2022
Dave Weigel once went out of his way to be extraordinary kind and generous to me in a time of need. In my opinion, suspending someone for a month without pay for a retweet they’ve already publicly apologized for is an overreaction.
— William Turton (@WilliamTurton) June 6, 2022
Just so we’re all clear:
Taylor Lorenz can literally lie and violate basic standards and gets no punishment. Felicia can leak her bosses emails..violate company policy and harass her coworkers and is good to go
Dave Weigel shitposts and he’s suspended w/o pay for a month https://t.co/TdGPDKZTtN
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) June 6, 2022
Clear case of CYA here, the union should fight this https://t.co/cPSolB8jp1
— ℮oin Higgins (@EoinHiggins_) June 6, 2022
I’m sure this not-at-all-overreaction to a single retweet of a joke you could see any night on Comedy Central will calm things down and make the world more just. Congrats to all involved!
Biggest congrats to me for never again having to work for an employer like this. https://t.co/DwkaOHuEWk
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) June 6, 2022
Everyone knows what they’re doing to Weigel is a cruel joke. Everyone. Even the people doing it to him. And that’s the most Kafkaesque aspect of it all.
— Jeff B. is *BOX OFFICE POISON* (@EsotericCD) June 6, 2022
One month suspension without pay for Weigel.
I’ll just say I don’t think the Post’s handling of this retweet and related issues has built a healthier workplace environment that sets everyone up to succeed.https://t.co/r1zpdTa0Hw
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) June 6, 2022
Taylor Lorenz just got caught repeatedly lying in her article such that WP had to revise it 3 times as an “Editor’s Note,” and it still contains a lie: nothing happened.
Dave Weigel immediately apologized for RT’ing a joke and is suspended without pay:https://t.co/fmtFNy78XN
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 6, 2022
Anyway, congratulations, everyone, on keeping your finger on the pulse of What’s Really Important: Dave Weigel retweeted a joke that may have insulted Womanhood.
🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️— Cathy Young 🇺🇦 (@CathyYoung63) June 6, 2022
