The left and their allies in the mainstream press have tried six ways to Sunday for years now to get conservative commentator Tucker Carlson taken off the air, either by swamping his advertisers with threats and/or by trying to shame Fox News into pulling the plug on his program.
They’ve been wildly unsuccessful, of course. In fact, his ratings usually go up when such attacks ramp up, which further enrages them. But that doesn’t keep The Usual Suspects from trying, which brings me to the latest instance of them being driven batcrap insane by a Tucker Carlson rant.
During his show Tuesday night, Carlson talked about how New York Times tech reporter Taylor Lorenz used International Women’s Day to portray herself as a victim of a year-long, online “harassment and smear campaign”, which she says “destroyed her life.” In a segment on how powerful people like Meghan Markle were declaring themselves powerless, Carlson took issue with Lorenz trotting out the victim card, considering her position at the supposed newspaper of record at a time when so many are out of work.
“Lots of people are suffering right now,” Carlson stated. “But no one is suffering more than Taylor Lorenz.”
For some strange reason, Washington Post media reporter Jeremy Barr became fauxfended after seeing video of Carlson’s commentary, and proceeded to frame the segment by proclaiming Carlson was saying her “full name” on air many times for a reason:
Notice how many times Tucker Carlson says Taylor’s full name on his very highly watched television show. That’s not a coincidence. pic.twitter.com/ru1OkfSIyq
— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) March 10, 2021
Other so-called “reporters” like Associated Press chief political reporter Steve Peoples also rushed to white knight for Lorenz, allegeding Carlson was saying her “full name” in an effort to encourage people to harass her:
This is dangerous and disgusting. Someone asks for help after suffering online harassment, and this man mocks her in prime time — using her full name five separate times — in an obvious attempt to encourage more harassment. We are better than this. https://t.co/zlCcf84bgG
— Steve Peoples (@sppeoples) March 10, 2021
Tucker is attacked nightly & is routinely smeared in the worst ways imaginable by activist reporters…as seen in the false bile below…but simply MENTIONING the name of an NYT reporter who made a career out of destroying livelihoods for crimes against wokeness is **violence**🙄 pic.twitter.com/u4m4yN3jip
— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) March 10, 2021
Lorenz herself even got in on the action, claiming the photo Carlson used of her was an old photo that “isn’t even from my IG” and that he “photoshopped” her avatar “into something it isn’t”:
Yup, and the photo they used isn’t even from my IG, it’s from years ago. Tucker spent time and resources to photoshop my avatar into something it isn’t. That’s very much an intentional act! https://t.co/T9meoPH4Ua
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) March 10, 2021
I don’t have my face on here for a reason, and yet https://t.co/1jS16x9PSd
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) March 10, 2021
When I say the whole media eruption over Carlson’s segment was dumb as hell, I’m not exaggerating. Let me explain why.
First, the photo Carlson used of Lorenz is the one that is used … on her New York Times profile page; so, no, it wasn’t “photoshopped.” It’s the one her frickin’ employer uses, for crying out loud:
This is your New York Times profile page, Taylor. Get a grip. https://t.co/zdVC1sXHwr pic.twitter.com/TJnBDCSvwJ
— Sister Toldjah Le Pew 😁 (@sistertoldjah) March 10, 2021
Second, while she doesn’t “have her face” on her Twitter profile, it’s in her Instagram profile – which she has linked on her Twitter page:
Taylor Lorenz is upset Tucker used her picture on his show but she has a direct link to her IG on her page, that features …her face. Sooo… pic.twitter.com/9wKvAn3qY8
— Courtney (@CShadegg) March 10, 2021
Thirdly, the whole “full name” argument is just stupid. I mean, are we not supposed to call people by the names they’re using on their profile pages and in their articles? Are you f-in kidding me with this stuff? I guess Carlson was supposed to call her “the New York Times reporter,” which would be silly. Of course, if he did that, he’d be accused of diminishing her accomplishments or something. You just cannot win with these insipid people.
Lastly, Lorenz’s entire career at the New York Times largely revolves around, get this, social media naming and shaming. Yes, that’s an actual beat. As Fox News noted in a piece before the Carlson segment aired, she’s known as a “tattletale journalist” amongst her critics, and has been known to try and make online social media “connections” with the teenage children of high-profile public figures like Kellyanne and George Conway, which I wrote about last year.
After the video clip of Carlson went viral, Kellyanne Conway responded accordingly:
Thin-skinned @TaylorLorenz loves being a public figure; goes on TV; features her face on Insta; writes for @nytimes & tweeted about herself on International Women's Day
When @TaylorLorenz criticizes people, it's "journalism"
When @TaylorLorenz is criticized, it's "harassment" https://t.co/gA7YUNFkkj— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) March 10, 2021
As did former acting DNI Ric Grenell:
. @TaylorLorenz wants to write for the public – but doesn’t want the public to respond.
It’s the height of wokeness wrapped in elitism.
The fragility of today’s reporters stands in stark contrast to real journalists of the past. https://t.co/o8BzJuvGHp
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) March 10, 2021
There’s also something to be said about journalists who become activists the moment they share their opinions on their social media pages, whether they be about politics or whatever. At that point, you are opening yourself up to criticism, and that goes double for people like Lorenz whose job is to actually do much worse in terms of public shaming than what Lorenz and her defenders are alleging Carlson did last night:
There is a generation of journalists who fancy themselves political operatives – and who recognizably act, at a machine level, like oppo operatives – but still expect the deference and prerogatives that real journalists have historically gotten. That's just not tenable any more. https://t.co/1a3buCzKJI
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) March 10, 2021
Does Lorenz deserve death threats for what she reports? Of course, she doesn’t. No one does. I’ve been subjected to some vile comments myself over the years, including rape and death threats, and doxing, too (read a small sampling of some of my “fan mail” here), and it escalated tenfold once I started using my real name online.
For better or worse, such things come with the territory. Doesn’t make it right, but it’s worth stating for the record all the same.
Taylor Lorenz is accusing Tucker of harassment for using her picture instead of her blobfish avatar. Looks like her employer is involved in the same targeted harassment. Scandal!
Trust fund journos like Taylor work overtime to convince ppl they are victims. They're just clowns pic.twitter.com/1xMHHVIo33
— Watchdog (@LibWatchdog) March 10, 2021
Clowns, indeed. The “outrage” drummed up over Carlson’s commentary on Lorenz was just straight-up foolishness. He was no more “using her full name and picture” to encourage people to harass her than I am right now. Her photo is on her New York Times profile page. She already uses her “full name” online. That this molehill was blown up into a mountain just shows the left’s/liberal media’s continued obsession with victimhood, as well as their willingness to hide behind the “journalism” shield when they get called out for their double standards.
It’s just not a good look – not at all. And is it journalism? Not even a little bit.
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