Media Twitter Explodes After Bari Weiss’ Sudden Resignation from the NY Times

New York Times opinion editor and writer Bari Weiss announced her resignation on Tuesday in a lengthy letter posted to her website, where she claimed she was bullied by her colleagues, even in their company-wide Slack channels. The news took the internet by storm as both liberal and conservative political pundits and media figures hit Twitter to share their clashing reactions.

Many faulted the Times for their apparently toxic workplace environment, including the paper’s own Rukmini Callimachi, a foreign correspondent at the paper, who called the alleged bullying of Weiss “not okay.” Times political reporter Ken Vogel also weighed in.

It’s one thing that many of our readers and staff disagree with ⁦@bariweiss⁩’ views – fine. But the fact that she has been openly bullied, not just on social media, but in internal slack channels is not okay. https://t.co/DuyEPv7VDG

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) July 14, 2020

I don’t know @bariweiss & don’t think I’ve read any of her writing before her resignation letter, but if she was bullied by her colleagues at the @nytimes, that’s wrong, & troubling.

— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) July 14, 2020

Others praised Weiss for her courage to speak up and continued to call out the paper — noting that Weiss’ current ridicule might validate her point:

If someone like @bariweiss feels like she can’t do her best work at the @nytimes they should make some real changes over there.

— Andrew Yang??? (@AndrewYang) July 14, 2020

Dear @bariweiss – thank you for your courage, your voice and never ceasing to challenge us and make us think. You are an incredible role model!https://t.co/KFTI247PYG pic.twitter.com/IxT4dWpryM

— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 14, 2020

The comments are a testament to how Bari Weiss just may have a point.
Such fear, disguised as ridicule, of a dissenting opinion. https://t.co/yXjbCjrPNH

— Patch (@PatrickZircher) July 14, 2020

What the Times did to @bariweiss is unconscionable. It’s not civil, It’s not in the reader’s interest, and the well-documented culture of extreme harassment will, I hope, now come to light. This is the biggest media story in years.

— Caitlin Flanagan (@CaitlinPacific) July 14, 2020

I take Bari Weiss’ resignation letter with more than one pinch of salt, not least because she repeatedly refers to herself as a “centrist,” demonstrating a startling lack of self-awareness. But it’s worth reading. There’s some truth in it https://t.co/52dKylvpsT

— Skylar Baker-Jordan (@SkylarJordan) July 14, 2020

The only thing I’m going to say about Bari Weiss is that if even half the stuff she says about the NYT’s internal culture is true, holy crap that is one hell of a toxic workplace.

— Caroline McCarthy ? (@caro) July 14, 2020

“There are terms for all of this: unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive discharge. I’m no legal expert. But I know that this is wrong.” – @bariweiss

A reckoning is coming at the @nytimes.https://t.co/cggoEpMf7a

— Steven Cheung (@CaliforniaPanda) July 14, 2020

Nah. I think her letter laid down a challenge to the NYT that requires a response, not just attacks on who might support her. Btw I noticed that Rukmini Callimachi seems to think so too–and she’s no slouch.

— Thomas E. Ricks (@tomricks1) July 14, 2020

Everyone, and I mean everyone, should read Bari Weiss’s resignation letter from the @nytimes. It is a crystal clear indictment of the Twitter mob, cancel culture, identity politics groupthink that has gripped, not just the Times, but our entire nation. https://t.co/tWkD8v1k7m https://t.co/d4Sf7hKWLu

— Steve Tobak (@SteveTobak) July 14, 2020

This is a remarkable staetment. Equal parts inspiring + harrowing.

Whatever your opinion of my friend @bariweiss, I hope you won’t flippantly dismiss this thoughtful account of why she felt compelled to depart an institution she so obviously still revers. https://t.co/IngpoGn5L4

— Kmele (@kmele) July 14, 2020

Bari Weiss nuking the NY Times on the same day when their cool new very online de facto editor-in-chief is writing about how things look like cake is perfection beyond belief.

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 14, 2020

A NY Times columnist quits in disgust at what an organ of enforced orthodoxy the paper’s editorial pages have become. Read every word. The ring of truth is unmistakable. https://t.co/Dyux1yssIa

— Brit Hume (@brithume) July 14, 2020

What Weiss apparently doesn’t understand is that it was imperative that she be bullied, cajoled, slandered, and denounced by her colleagues lest the Times run the risk of becoming a hostile work environment. https://t.co/3koPplQENg

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) July 14, 2020

Others criticized Weiss, implying she was unable to handle the criticism sparked by several of her controversial columns:

Bari Weiss has made a career out of claiming to be persecuted. It’s how she got hired by the @nytimes in the first place. So I don’t believe a single thing she says.

— Sean Kent (@seankent) July 14, 2020

So if I am reading this correctly, Bari Weiss… canceled herself? https://t.co/rWYo6Adpw2

— Matt Brennan (@thefilmgoer) July 14, 2020

Seeing a lot of folks saying Bari Weiss’ resignation exposes the roots of the demise of American journalism. I’d suggest that hedge funds buying and ripping apart outlets across the country and massive tech giants sucking up all the ad revenue are more important matters.

— Sam Stein (@samstein) July 14, 2020

wait so is Karen Weiss threatening to file a lawsuit against the Times for discrimination?

— john r stanton (@dcbigjohn) July 14, 2020

Bari Weiss has made a career out of claiming to be persecuted. It’s how she got hired by the @nytimes in the first place. So I don’t believe a single thing she says.

— Sean Kent (@seankent) July 14, 2020

This sounds to me like safe-space-ism. You write stuff that pisses people off, you live with the consequences. All you have a right to expect is that your bosses will stand behind you.

— Timothy Noah (@TimothyNoah1) July 14, 2020

This whole Bari Weiss thing really makes me appreciate Ross Douthat. He knows what his role is, he doesn’t complain when people get mad, and he wields a subtle knife. Good job @DouthatNYT.

— Evan (@evan7257) July 14, 2020

Being a conservative columnist for the NYTimes is a specific job that requires specific skills. It’s a hard job!

— Evan (@evan7257) July 14, 2020

That Bari Weiss feels confident enough to leave one of the most prestigious jobs in journalism when the entire economy is collapsing tells you all you need to know about how right wing personalities are protected by the safety net of the conservative media welfare state.

— MZS (@mattzollerseitz) July 14, 2020

Correction: This piece was updated to fix the incorrect grouping of a tweet from Charles C. W. Cooke, which was a joke and not an actual criticism of Weiss.