Writer Receives Death Threats After Criticism of Ariana Grande

Republic

The LGBT news website INTO has removed the byline for an opinion piece accusing Ariana Grande’s new music video “thank u, next” of being “anti-queer” after the writer of the story received death threats.

The website has since also apologized for the story and cut ties with the writer over “allegations” it says came to light only yesterday.

“We have decided to remove the author’s name from this piece after the editorial team was alerted that a high number of death threats were being made against the writer as a result of the opinions presented in this piece,” read an editor’s note affixed to the top of the article.

“INTO has historically been a place for varying opinions from LGBTQ people around the world, and will remain such a place — but these opinions never warrant violence,” it continued. “And when a writer’s own life could potentially be at stake, we must take necessary steps to ensure their safety.”

Also Read: CNN's Zucker vs. Trump: How They Built Each Other Up and Want to Tear Each Other Down

It’s unclear whether the death threats were coming from enraged Ariana Grande fans, or from anti-LGBT trolls. Website editor-in- chief Zach Stafford did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.

In the piece, the now anonymous author, hit Grande for “blackface” and “transmisogyny.”

“Her music video failed to support the basic dignity of queer and trans people,” it reads. “Laden with transmisogyny, anti-queer jokes, and blackface, the video follows Ariana’s white feminist awakening through a celebrity-laden nod to several cult classics”

The story then went on to list a number of examples from the music video, including a moment when gay performer Troye Sivan says of Grande: “I heard she’s a lesbian now and dating some chick called Aubrey. It’s f—ing sick.” The line was part of a broader homage to the movie “Mean Girls.”

INTO, a news organization owed by the LGBT dating app Grindr, has produced a string of notable pieces in recent weeks, which have included sending reporters into Mexico to cover the migrant caravan. The site was also the first to report news that Grindr president, Scott Chen, did not believe in same-sex marriage.

They also produce the web’s most extensive coverage and commentary for “RuPaul’s Drag Race”

9 Times New York Times Editorial Made Everyone Freak Out

Bari Weiss: We're All Fascists Now

The New York Times opinion editor set the Internet ablaze after going after college students who she said were trying to shut down free speech. Critics pointed to Weiss mistakenly linking two fake ANTIFA Twitter accounts
MSNBC
David Brooks: 'Girl I Want Your Body'

New York Times Op-Ed columnist David Brooks offered his spin on the MeToo movement in November. But his attempt to speak the language of sex and passion led him to write some lines like "girl I want your body" and "sex is a gold nugget" and the Internet went nuts.
Getty
Bret Stephens' "A Defense, of Sorts, for Harvey Weinstein"

The October, 2017 piece was actually titled "Weinstein and Our Culture of Enablers," but Stephens couldn't resist throwing in the trollish alternative headline see above into a tweeted description of the article -- which promptly precipitated an Internet meltdown
YouTube
David Brooks Urges "Respect to Gun Owners" After Parkland, Florida Massacre

David Brooks set passions aflame after urging "respect" for gun owners after 17 children were killed at a school shooting in Parkland, Florida. "So if you want to stop school shootings it's not enough just to vent and march. It's necessary to let people from Red America lead the way, and to show respect to gun owners at all points," he wrote.
Getty
Quinn "Been Friends with Various Neo-Nazis" Norton

The New York Times got more than they bargained for when they hired tech writer Quinn Norton. Almost immediately after the news was announced old tweets began to emerge including where Norton said she had "been friends with various neo-nazis" and used the N word. The Times cut her loose just hours after she was hired.
YouTube
Bari Weiss Attacks Aziz Ansari Accuser: 'I'll Get Crushed for This'

Weiss risked more wrath on the set of "Morning Joe" in January after blasting a woman who accused comedian Aziz Ansari of sexual misconduct. "It's called bad sex," she told Joe and Mika. "I'll get crushed for saying this."
TheWrap
Bari Weiss Quotes Hamilton: 'Immigrants: We Get the Job Done"

Anti-Weiss Internet mobs were set ablaze after she tweeted out "Immigrants: we get the job done," in response to Olympian Mirai Nagasu's triple axel. Nagasu was born in California to immigrant parents and Twitter furiously dragged her for not paying sufficient deference to the decision.
Getty
James Bennet Diversifies the Times Opinion Pages

Editorial Page Editor James Bennet has said his mission is to broaden editorial diversity on the Times newsroom. The initiative has often been rocky and the paper has been beset by online criticism of hiring choices, and targeted leaks by Times employees unhappy with his changes.
YouTube
David Brooks Sandwich-Shames Less Educated Friend

Perhaps most egregious of all in the mind of Internet warriors was Brooks' confession in a July, 2017 column that he once took a friend "with only a high school degree" into a gourmet sandwich shop but decided to pull a quick switch for Mexican food after, so he said, she appeared overwhelmed by words like Soppressata and Capicollo.
Creative Commons

1 of 9

Most of the recent fire and fury comes from the paper’s editorial pages

Bari Weiss: We're All Fascists Now

The New York Times opinion editor set the Internet ablaze after going after college students who she said were trying to shut down free speech. Critics pointed to Weiss mistakenly linking two fake ANTIFA Twitter accounts

View In Gallery