Washington Post fires writer Felicia Sonmez after very public and embarrassing social media debacle over sexist joke



The Washington Post fired high-profile writer Felicia Sonmez on Thursday after nearly a week of a very embarrassing and public social media debacle involving a sexist joke retweeted by another writer.

The development was first reported by the Daily Beast and confirmed by a source to Politico.

The controversy began when female writers objected to a retweet of a joke by writer Dave Weigel on Friday.

"Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it's polar or sexual," read the tweet.

"Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!" responded Sonmez.

\u201cFantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!\u201d
— Felicia Sonmez (@Felicia Sonmez) 1654274227

Weigel apologized and deleted the tweet, but the damage was done.

"I just removed a retweet of an offensive joke. I apologize and did not mean to cause any harm," wrote Weigel.

Rather than let the issue go at that time, Sonmez kept tweeting.

In response, WaPo national editor Matea Gold tried to reassure employees on a private company Slack channel.

"I just want to assure all of you that The Post is committed to maintaining a respectful workplace for everyone. We do not tolerate demeaning language or actions," Gold wrote.

Rather than let the issue go at that time, Sonmez kept tweeting.

In response, executive editor Sally Buzbee sent a memo to employees calling on them to treat each other with kindness and respect.

"We do not tolerate colleagues attacking colleagues either face to face or online," Buzbee wrote in part. "Respect for others is critical to any civil society, including our newsroom. The newsroom social media policy points specifically to the need for collegiality."

Rather than let the issue go at that time, Sonmez kept tweeting.

Others at the Washington Post called out Sonmez for continuing to play the victim while attacking her colleagues.

"Felicia, we all mess up from time to time. Engaging in repeated and targeted public harassment of a colleague is neither a good look nor is it particularly effective. It turns the language of inclusivity into clout chasing and bullying. I don’t think this is appropriate," replied WaPo writer Jose Del Real.

“When women stand up for themselves, some people respond with even more vitriol," she responded.

Rather than let the issue go at that time, Sonmez kept tweeting.

"I don’t know who the colleagues anonymously disparaging me in media reports are. But I do know that the reporters who issued synchronized tweets this week downplaying the Post’s workplace issues have a few things in common with each other," Sonmez wrote in a long thread on Thursday.

Then she was fired.

The New York Times reported that her termination letter cited misconduct involving "insubordination" related to her tweets maligning her colleagues.

Conservatives and other critics of the Washington Post pounced on the news to mock the news outlet.

Sonmez has not tweeted since it was reported that she was fired.

Here's more about the WaPo Twitter debacle:

WaPo Reporter Gets SUSPENDED for Retweeting “Sexist” Joke | @Jason Whitlockwww.youtube.com

The Washington Post has reportedly placed journalist David Weigel on a one-month unpaid suspension after he apologized last week for retweeting 'an offensive joke' about women



Washington Post reporter David Weigel, who apologized last week for retweeting a joke, has been slapped with a one-month unpaid suspension, CNN has reported, citing two unidentified individuals familiar with the issue.

"I am out of the office and will return on July 5," an automatic reply from Weigel's email account noted, according to Fox News.

Last week, Weigel retweeted a post that said, "Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual."

Washington Post reporter Felicia Sonmez shared a screenshot of Weigel's retweet and sarcastically remarked, "Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!"

\u201cFantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!\u201d
— Felicia Sonmez (@Felicia Sonmez) 1654274227

Weigel undid his retweet and issued an apology: "I just removed a retweet of an offensive joke. I apologize and did not mean to cause any harm."

Washington Post chief communications officer Kristine Coratti Kelly reportedly issued a statement last week that said, "Editors have made clear to the staff that the tweet was reprehensible and demeaning language or actions like that will not be tolerated."

\u201cWaPo chief spox @kriscoratti issues statement on @daveweigel's retweet of a sexist joke, which he has since apologized for: \u201cEditors have made clear to the staff that the tweet was reprehensible and demeaning language or actions like that will not be tolerated.\u201d\u201d
— Oliver Darcy (@Oliver Darcy) 1654279964

Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon has publicly offered Weigel three months of pay if the reporter takes back his apology, reshares the joke, and leaves his job.

"Wapo put @daveweigel on unpaid leave for a month because of a joke? Dave, I’m offering you 3 months' salary to retract your apology, repost the joke, and quit. Have some respect for yourself," Dillon tweeted.

Sonmez has also taken issue with tweets posted by Jose A. Del Real of the Washington Post.

In response to Sonmez's post about Weigel's joke retweet, Del Real tweeted, "Felicia, we all mess up from time to time. Engaging in repeated and targeted public harassment of a colleague is neither a good look nor is it particularly effective. It turns the language of inclusivity into clout chasing and bullying. I don’t think this is appropriate." In another tweet he added, "Dave’s retweet is terrible and unacceptable. But rallying the internet to attack him for a mistake he made doesn’t actually solve anything. We all mess up in some way or another. There is such a thing as challenging with compassion."

In a tweet on Monday evening, Sonmez wrote, "It's hard for me to understand why the Washington Post hasn't done anything about these tweets, in which one of its employees mischaracterizes his own actions and accuses a colleague of 'clout chasing and bullying' for publicly objecting to sexism. Is this who we are?"

\u201cIt's hard for me to understand why the Washington Post hasn't done anything about these tweets, in which one of its employees mischaracterizes his own actions and accuses a colleague of "clout chasing and bullying" for publicly objecting to sexism.\n\nIs this who we are?\u201d
— Felicia Sonmez (@Felicia Sonmez) 1654567486

Washington Post spirals out of control after a writer retweets a 'reprehensible' joke about women



A spokesperson for the Washington Post issued an apology after a writer retweeted a sexist joke and other writers at the news outlet objected vocally on Twitter.

Dave Weigel retweeted a joke about women on Friday and immediately regretted it after he was criticized heavily for joking on Twitter.

Weigel deleted the tweet, but it was saved for posterity by random people on Twitter and other writers at the outlet, like Felicia Sonmez, who objected to the sexist message.

\u201cFantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!\u201d
— Felicia Sonmez (@Felicia Sonmez) 1654274227

"Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it's polar or sexual," read the tweet.

"Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!" replied Sonmez sarcastically.

"Or perhaps @daveweigel the correct diagnosis: they’re just not that into you," responded Stephanie Ruhl, the MSNBC host.

Kristine Coratti Kelly, a Wapo spokesperson, quickly issued an apology for the offensive joke tweet.

"Editors have made clear to the staff that the tweet was reprehensible and demeaning language or actions like that will not be tolerated," said Kelly.

Weigel also apologized.

\u201cI just removed a retweet of an offensive joke. I apologize and did not mean to cause any harm.\u201d
— David Weigel (@David Weigel) 1654276091

For some on the left, it wasn't enough.

"You are still misogynistic trash. Can’t believe @washingtonpost still employs someone with such deep-seated sexist beliefs. Definitely clouds his ability to report unbiased facts," responded liberal activist Amy Siskind.

According to a report by CNN's Oliver Darcy, WaPo national editor Matea Gold addressed the controversy with the outlet's employees on a channel on Slack.

"I just want to assure all of you that The Post is committed to maintaining a respectful workplace for everyone. We do not tolerate demeaning language or actions," Gold wrote.

The whole bizarre episode was mocked and ridiculed by many on social media.

"Seriously? The Washington Post had to issue a statement about a retweet of a dumb joke? Nearly a dozen journalists in Mexico have been murdered since the start of the year and here we have people freaking out because Dave Weigel retweeted something. Goddamned babies," said editor Jay Caruso.

Here's more about sexism in society:

We're All Racist, Sexist Bigots & 2+2=5 | James Lindsay | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 79www.youtube.com