James Woods took to Twitter on Thursday morning to celebrate layoffs at BuzzFeed and HuffPost earlier this week, calling the news a “victory for real journalism.”
“Well, layoffs at #Buzzfeed and #HuffPo are victories for real journalism. The less #FakeNews, the better,” the actor wrote on Twitter. In his post, Woods included a screenshot of a tweet by Mother Jones editor in chief Clara Jeffrey, urging her followers to support news organizations.
“I would hope the people cheering layoffs of journalists can find whatever emotional support they so clearly need in their lives. As many smart people have written in recent days, lord knows that support will not be found on Twitter,” a rep for BuzzFeed told TheWrap.
Reps for HuffPost did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.
The media layoffs this week suggest the broad industry contraction over the last several years will continue apace in 2019. On Wednesday evening, news broke that BuzzFeed would cut 15 percent of its staff.
“Over the past few months, we’ve done extensive work examining the trends in our business and the evolving economics of the digital platforms,” BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti explained to staff in an email. “We’ve developed a good understanding of where we can consolidate our teams, focus in on the content that is working, and achieve the right cost structure to support our multi-revenue model. We are confident the changes we are making will put us on a firm foundation and allow us to invest and grow sustainably for years to come.
Cuts at Verizon Media have also resulted in layoffs at HuffPost, with of the news coming to staffers Thursday afternoon.
Woods, an Emmy and Golden Globe-winner, is best known for his roles in “Casino,” “Once Upon a Time in America” and “Salvador.” In recent years, Woods has become known for his conservative positions. He is also one of President Trump’s biggest supporters online and even earning a shoutout from the president earlier this month.
Well, layoffs at #Buzzfeed and #HuffPo are victories for real journalism. The less #FakeNews, the better… pic.twitter.com/CHcSZR7r0C
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 24, 2019