damnnn should've probably left this one in the drafts folder overnight https://t.co/wAnXX4GwDd
— 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚 𝐤𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐚𝐧 (@ManishaKrishnan) January 17, 2018
@NickSloan212 I was a reporter at 22 years old. I would have died before sending something like this out (and I would have been unemployed in short order.)
— Karra Small (@karrasmallmedia) January 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/FlashCadillack/status/953732672890818560
. @maxwelltani obtained the full email that @k80way sent to @TVAshleigh's colleague – imagine thinking so highly of yourself that you send the last graf in an email…on top of the horrible comments about Ashleigh's appearance and age. https://t.co/lBjeADJd6l pic.twitter.com/7kx0yGoD9W
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/evepeyser/status/953705289664159744
When Katie Way was 6 years old, @TVAshleigh was dodging chunks of buildings toppling all around her on 9/11 — and reporting on it on live TV. I'm guessing Ashleigh isn't terribly shook by this. https://t.co/IxJuVHugZH
— Christy Lemire (@christylemire) January 17, 2018
The @babedotnet Aziz Ansari writer attacking another woman’s age,beauty & popularity is hugely disapointing. We’re already forced to combat “meangirl” stereotypes. This email advances them &hurts important conversations abt sexual misconduct &education sparked by the Ansari piece https://t.co/lRVyaw0s0U
— Stephanie Ruhle (@SRuhle) January 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/andreagonram/status/953747900164689920
https://twitter.com/_brittanyv/status/953747201292996610
Quite a few felt that the situation was ripe for parody.
This is barely distinguishable from a Yelp review.
— James Miyazawa (@jmiyazawa) January 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/GMPaiella/status/953737016189038598
I remember my first beer https://t.co/mtQ88kVlwI
— Shoshana Weissmann, Sloth Committee Chair 🦥 (@senatorshoshana) January 17, 2018
This email violates rule no. 1 of The Awl essay "Some Advice For Young People," which is, "Why don’t you think about that over the weekend and if you still feel that way on Monday, you can totally send that email, okay?" https://t.co/oUmNfrAJs9
— Matt Pearce 🦅🇺🇸 (@mattdpearce) January 17, 2018
Wow, that email to Ashleigh Banfield from Katie Way is like a note passed in 8th grade algebra class. At a private school.
— Ted Travelstead (@trumpetcake) January 18, 2018
https://twitter.com/delaknee/status/953759188651474944
However, there were also many who sympathized with Way and felt that her response to all of the negative media coverage was not only understandable, but justified.
https://twitter.com/moorehn/status/953745248781520896
https://twitter.com/kath_krueger/status/953732711746818049
so I have serious issues with this reporter and how she handled this story, but I'm kinda very here for how unflinchingly she's standing her ground here https://t.co/lts9ezawp2
— Natalie Shure (@nataliesurely) January 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/JessicaValenti/status/953745051049512961
For the record, Banfield did respond to Way’s email on the air, informing the young reporter that “if you truly believe in the #MeToo movement, if you truly believe in women’s rights, if you truly believe in feminism, the last thing you should do is attack someone in an ad hominem way for her age — I’m 50 — and for my highlights.”
https://twitter.com/HLNPR/status/953470568958849025
“I was brown-haired for a while when I was a war correspondent, interviewing Yasser Arafat, and in Afghanistan and Iraq, Gaza and the West Bank. Google those places,” Banfield added.
While it’s unclear what the professional outcome of this debacle will be, it’s pretty evident that Way is at least willing to go to bat for her sources. Unfortunately, all of this bat-swinging may very well be distracting everyone from the actual issues at hand.