“She’ll be covering the intersection of sports, race, politics, gender and culture,” editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg says of Hill, who famously spoke out against Trump
Jon Levine | October 1, 2018 @ 7:10 AM
Last Updated: October 1, 2018 @ 7:18 AM
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Former ESPN host Jemele Hill will join The Atlantic, editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg announced on Monday.
Goldberg said Hill would be covering “the intersection of sports, race, politics, gender, and culture for us.”
“Jemele is a wonderfully talented journalist who is famous for her acute commentary, fearless writing and encyclopedic knowledge of sports,” he continued in a statement.
I'm very pleased to announce that the great @jemelehill is joining @TheAtlantic as a staff writer. She'll be covering the intersection of sports, race, politics, gender, and culture for us. Welcome, Jemele.
“But what drew us to Jemele in particular is her deep commitment to reporting,” Goldberg continued. “There are a million stories to be uncovered at the intersection where sports, race, money and politics meet, and Jemele is the exact right person to do this uncovering, and The Atlantic is the exact right home for this sort of journalism.”
Though she commands a cult following, Hill is a controversial choice and has long been a lightning rod for conservative criticism. During her time at ESPN, Hill first stoked outrage after tweeting out her belief last September that President Trump was a “white supremacist,” and the most “ignorant offensive president” of her lifetime.
The statement made her an instant #resistance icon, but drew scorn elsewhere and earned an official rebuke from ESPN, which distanced themselves from the remarks and called them “inappropriate.”
The president himself took up a campaign against Hill at the time, demanding an apology and tweeting out to his fans that ESPN’s ratings were taking a hit as a result of their anti-Trump politicization.
“ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming). People are dumping it in RECORD numbers. Apologize for untruth!,” he said at the time. And though Hill’s show “SC6” didn’t take a ratings dive, she parted from the network in August 2018.
After reaping a cash infusion from tech billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs, The Atlantic has been on a hiring spree, snapping up high profile and emerging talent. The growth however has not always been smooth. After initially hiring away Kevin Williamson from National Review, Goldberg and The Atlantic unceremoniously fired him.
JK Rowling's 13 Snarkiest Tweets: From Trump Burns to Fan Clapback (Photos)
J.K. Rowling is known for her fiery tweets almost as much as her "Harry Potter" books. Since the hit author opened her Twitter account in 2009, the Internet has been privy to the wit, charm, and -- most of all -- snark that made "Harry Potter" one of the best-selling series of all time. From President Donald Trump to Piers Morgan to anonymous Internet trolls, Rowling rarely holds back when something gets her attention. In honor of her 52nd birthday (on July 31), take a look at her snarkiest tweets.
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Rowling has a long-standing feud with British journalist and television presenter Piers Morgan. Here's one memorable exchange where Rowling appeared to come out on top: She tweeted a screenshot of a complimentary article about her and asked for the writer to come forward. Morgan was quick to respond, writing, "Priceless #humblebrag BS. Nobody plays the celebrity game more abusively or ruthlessly than you, Ms 'Intensely Private Billionaire.'" Of course, it turns out that Morgan was actually the person who wrote the article in the first place. Oops.
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After a Twitter troll mocked Serena Williams -- one of the best tennis players of all time -- accusing her of being built like a man, Rowling defended the sports icon like a boss, posting a picture of Williams in a red dress and writing, "'She is built like a man'. Yeah, my husband looks just like this in a dress. You're an idiot."
Years after Rowling made waves by announcing that she always thought that Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was gay, she continues to stick up for the beloved character and other LGBTQ people. When a Twitter user commented that she couldn't see Dumbledore as gay, Rowling replied, "Maybe because gay people just look like... people?"
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After a Twitter user hurled abuse at Rowling (calling her "JK b---hface," among other insults), she offered a quick and brutal response: "The Internet doesn’t just offer opportunities for misogynistic abuse, you know. Penis enlargers can also be bought discreetly."
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Rowling started burning Donald Trump well before he became president. After Trump's final debate with Hillary Clinton during the campaign, Rowling declared, "Well, there you have it. A highly intelligent, experienced woman just debated a giant orange Twitter egg. Your move, America. #debate."
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After Trump met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Rowling posted a picture of a meeting between the two leaders (including a sad-looking Trump) and captioned the photo: "Mommy was mean to me and I don't want to hold her hand."
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Trump tweeted recently that he prided himself on his writing abilities, but Rowling caught his misspell of the word "pore" (he wrote "pour") in his message. The author tweeted: "hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha someone told him how to spell 'pore' hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah." Eventually she calmed down enough to write: "*wipes eyes, tries to control breathing* Seriously, @realDonaldTrump is the Greatest Writer on earth."
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When hordes of London protesters greeted Trump with a large, inflatable "Trump baby," Rowling was quick to tweet her support: "Our traditions decree that courtesy in the guest is matched by equal courtesy from the host."
Vice President Mike Pence has also been a subject of Rowling's scorn. After the administration announced its plan to prevent citizens from certain Muslim-majority countries from enterting the U.S., Rowling resurfaced an old, pre-election tweet from Pence where he said that calls to ban Muslims from entering the country are "offensive and unconstitutional." Rowling also added a Bible verse, writing, "'For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?' Matthew 16:26."
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After someone on Twitter cast doubt on the struggles of "despondent-looking" refugees because they looked " improbably well-fed," Rowling -- who worked for Amnesty International, long before her Potter success -- offered a quick and important reminder: "It's a little known fact that well-fed people can also die from bullets, bombs and gas chambers."
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When Brexit Secretary David Davis and UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson announced plans to exit the government, Rowling was not at all pleased, writing, "This is what happens when you have men in government who've been raised from birth to believe it's someone else's job to clean up after them. They throw tantrums when they finally make a mess no-one can fix."
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Former fans who don't like Rowling's political views are also fair game in her eyes. After one detractor tweeted Rowling to say she planned to burn her set of "Harry Potter" books, Rowling responded: "Well, the fumes from the DVDs might be toxic and I've still got your money, so by all means borrow my lighter."
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When yet another Twitter user told Rowling to stay out of politics, she had a quick (and true) retort: "In - Free - Countries - Anyone - Can - Talk - About - Politics. Try sounding out the syllables aloud, or ask a fluent reader to help."
J.K. Rowling is known for her fiery tweets almost as much as her "Harry Potter" books. Since the hit author opened her Twitter account in 2009, the Internet has been privy to the wit, charm, and -- most of all -- snark that made "Harry Potter" one of the best-selling series of all time. From President Donald Trump to Piers Morgan to anonymous Internet trolls, Rowling rarely holds back when something gets her attention. In honor of her 52nd birthday (on July 31), take a look at her snarkiest tweets.
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