Seattle Times reporter Mike Rosenberg has been suspended after he sent a DM, allegedly by accident, to writer Talia Jane where he called her “beautiful” and “hilarious” but then added, “there is so much c*m on your face”:
being a woman is totally normal and very cool pic.twitter.com/YSjk5frlJ4
— talia jane (@itsa_talia) May 5, 2019
Rosenberg, who is married, later apologized and said he sent the message to Talia by accident:
testing the waters & feigning oopsie is pretty typical in sexual harassment. so is initiating conversation on the premise of professionalism. did he forget i got a writer’s 10-year career wiped from a website for this exact behavior? pic.twitter.com/NIfuZL6W9z
— talia jane (@itsa_talia) May 5, 2019
Rosenberg later worried that he may get fired over it:
in what world is it my job to care? pic.twitter.com/lJ4sEvR4VL
— talia jane (@itsa_talia) May 5, 2019
If the name Talia Jane sounds familiar, it should. She sent that open letter to the CEO of Yelp in 2016 where she complained she wasn’t being paid enough:
2016 saw more open letters and @itsa_talia penned a doozy to her CEO about surviving on a tiny paycheck. #Medium2016 https://t.co/dYfxZ6clVw pic.twitter.com/X9Fu3WKV68
— Medium (@Medium) December 20, 2016
Jane was fired by Yelp after the letter went viral:
i love to get fired because i said out loud that i can't afford to pay my rent, this has solved all of my problems!
— talia jane (@itsa_talia) February 20, 2016
Recommended
someone at Yelp PR is informing people who call that my termination wasn't related to my letter. lol & ice cubes don't melt in heat.
— talia jane (@itsa_talia) February 20, 2016
Rosenberg tried to buy Jane’s silence with a $1000 donation to NOW:
he sent an email asking for empathy to not out him and promised a $1,000 donation to NOW. wrong move. women are not toys. we certainly should not be played with and efforts to manipulate us will not be tolerated. live with your choices. pic.twitter.com/ZKmEgBQSfh
— talia jane (@itsa_talia) May 5, 2019
But Jane then informed Rosenberg’s boss what was up:
baby’s first Letter To All The Editors pic.twitter.com/JU8AVAdWu2
— talia jane (@itsa_talia) May 5, 2019
And then he was suspended:
email from seattle times executive editor don shelton: pic.twitter.com/yQo6O4eCba
— talia jane (@itsa_talia) May 5, 2019
***