In case you missed the bombshell late last night, Ben Shapiro resigned from his post as Breitbart News’ editor-at-large over the management’s “disgusting” treatment of Michelle Fields.
https://twitter.com/mckaycoppins/status/709234443953643520
Tonight, I resigned from Breitbart News due to their treatment of @MichelleFields. My full statement: https://t.co/kEFev1L0Af
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 14, 2016
Here’s part of Shapiro’s statement:
Andrew built his life and his career on one mission: fight the bullies. But Andrew’s life mission has been betrayed. Indeed, Breitbart News, under the chairmanship of Steve Bannon, has put a stake through the heart of Andrew’s legacy. In my opinion, Steve Bannon is a bully, and has sold out Andrew’s mission in order to back another bully, Donald Trump; he has shaped the company into Trump’s personal Pravda, to the extent that he abandoned and undercut his own reporter, Breitbart News’ Michelle Fields, in order to protect Trump’s bully campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who allegedly assaulted Michelle. I spoke with Michelle the night after the incident. She told me her story. That story was backed by audiotape, eyewitness testimony from The Washington Post’s Ben Terris, physical bruises, and video tape.
Both Lewandowski and Trump maligned Michelle in the most repulsive fashion. Meanwhile, Breitbart News not only stood by and did nothing outside of tepidly asking for an apology, they then attempted to abandon Michelle by silencing staff from tweeting or talking about the issue. Finally, in the ultimate indignity, they undermined Michelle completely by running a poorly-evidenced conspiracy theory as their lead story in which Michelle and Terris had somehow misidentified Lewandowski.
This is disgusting. Andrew never would have stood for it. No news outlet would stand for it.
Fields announced her resignation as well.
I can't stand with an organization that won't stand by me: https://t.co/pohxCKScpf
— Michelle Fields (@MichelleFields) March 14, 2016
Via BuzzFeed:
Today I informed the management at Breitbart News of my immediate resignation. I do not believe Breitbart News has adequately stood by me during the events of the past week and because of that I believe it is now best for us to part ways.
This morning, Breitbart posted a piece mocking Fields and sliming Shapiro:
Best part about Breitbart publishing hitpiece doxxing @benshapiro & calling him a Jew traitor? Put it up when they knew he'd be asleep, PST.
— The Nats Won The World Series (@EsotericCD) March 14, 2016
This might be the most pathetic thing I have ever read. https://t.co/FUv5NKG0yt
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 14, 2016
The piece didn’t stick around long:
https://twitter.com/BradThor/status/709363260328419328
Breitbart's gross parting smear of @MichelleFields and @benshapiro is down. https://t.co/CQbjYGBCS2 pic.twitter.com/jbXovKjtLY
— Elliott Schwartz (@elliosch) March 14, 2016
Looks like the post was taken down. Brave folks over there. https://t.co/SSKunUXfwp
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) March 14, 2016
@BradThor @billpostmus @benshapiro @MichelleFields > @BreitbartNews renamed and took down Bigelow's hit piece pic.twitter.com/SzNnrwd8yU
— Tim Sumner (@SgtTim911) March 14, 2016
But it was up long enough for enough people to grab screenshots:
Alas, for @BreitbartNews and @williamtbigelow, the Internet Is Forever: pic.twitter.com/oesqqOljRx
— The Nats Won The World Series (@EsotericCD) March 14, 2016
Screen captures are forever pic.twitter.com/K3l2Ktir9j
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) March 14, 2016
Breitbart deleted its insane piece mocking Ben Shapiro & Michelle Fields for resigning. But we have screenshots. pic.twitter.com/fFHAEjTLUJ
— Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) March 14, 2016
You can also read the archived article here.
Breitbart deleted its insane piece mocking Ben Shapiro & Michelle Fields for resigning. Here's the archive: https://t.co/Wud9JG1Z5e
— Peter Sterne (@petersterne) March 14, 2016
Nice, huh?
Love how Breitbart puts @benshapiro's face inside a yellow star in pic, while noting him an "Orthodox Jew" in article. It's a fine touch.
— The Nats Won The World Series (@EsotericCD) March 14, 2016
Orig @benshapiro Breitbart piece 1) put face in Yellow Star, labelling him Orthodox Jew 2) called him traitor 3)doxxed w/link to CA Bar info
— The Nats Won The World Series (@EsotericCD) March 14, 2016
Wonder if they were trying to convey something very subtle by putting his face in a yellow star outline. pic.twitter.com/5IYWRwGhfg
— Jimmy (@JimmyPrinceton) March 14, 2016
https://twitter.com/NoahCRothman/status/709364114091614208
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/709368043030315009
@EsotericCD @benshapiro "fellow Orthodox Jew"?? Because that's so relevant to…? Done with Breitbart.
— Ronna McNamara (@RonnaMcnamara) March 14, 2016
Holy shit. This is just…beyond the beyond. https://t.co/d9M7jkWiMw
— Blaknsam (@Blaknsam) March 14, 2016
Seriously. What the hell.
Insert “Pravda” and “giving aid to the Kulaks” and the tone seems about right. pic.twitter.com/bF6Q3K5hQF
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) March 14, 2016
It's quite ironic the Breitbart is accusing @benshapiro of "stealing content." What a bunch of hypocrites. U made the right decision, Ben.
— Matt Dawson (@SaintRPh) March 14, 2016
Awfully considerate of @BreitbartNews to prove @benshapiro correct. https://t.co/qVSGouz9rO
— Rob Huck (@BumfOnline) March 14, 2016
Breitbart seems like a fun place to work…. https://t.co/9yWCnynooT
— Jim Swift (@JimSwiftDC) March 14, 2016
https://twitter.com/NathanWurtzel/status/709367584936861696
Poor @AndrewBreitbart, his site went to crap when he passed #TCOT https://t.co/zF8mKVuPIF
— ⚡️Erick Brockway⚡️ (@erickbrockway) March 14, 2016
https://twitter.com/DanielMael/status/709359744201396224
Parting food for thought from Shapiro:
There are many good people still contractually bound to Breitbart. Do not assume that just because people are there, they want to be.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 14, 2016
***
Update:
https://twitter.com/NoahCRothman/status/709372150461943808
From Politico:
Shapiro’s father, the writer David Shapiro, also resigned from Breitbart on Sunday evening.
According to the younger Shapiro, his father was hired under the pseudonym [William Bigelow] to protect his safety since the younger Shapiro said he received so many death threats for his writings.
“Breitbart put this under his byline because they knew I’d have to out him,” Shapiro said in an interview on Monday. “The fact they would use my father’s pseudonym in order to attack me just exposes how despicable they are.”
Good Lord.
***
Update:
Breitbart’s Joel Pollak has taken credit for the hit piece:
Here’s Breitbart stmt on that piece that was pulled, just came in: pic.twitter.com/ZIzbnGvy6a
— Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) March 14, 2016
(Pollak’s statement is posted where the hit piece once appeared.)
Shapiro, however, doesn’t buy it:
I believe this for precisely zero seconds. https://t.co/fsLRBAtUqz
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 14, 2016
I don't believe that @joelpollak is a nasty enough human being to write that piece this morning. So I don't believe his statement.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 14, 2016
***
Note regarding the archived version of Breitbart’s post:
@BecketAdams Shapiro told @Hadas_Gold that, thankfully, the CA Bar info is now outdated. Otherwise I'd have deleted my link too.
— The Nats Won The World Series (@EsotericCD) March 14, 2016
***
Related:
Breitbart editor orders staff to be patient, stop tweeting about Michelle Fields
***
Update:
‘Exodus is in full swing’: Two more writers reportedly resign from Breitbart
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