As we told you earlier, Variety thought it would be cool to frame a guy with a “We Like Dave” sign as the aggressor after he was accosted by protesters who quickly destroyed his signs and then claimed he had a weapon.
At times, the #NetflixWalkout situation threatened to devolve as counter protestors pushed against trans speakers. https://t.co/DJttIPDjLA pic.twitter.com/Dchp9awIrM
— Variety (@Variety) October 20, 2021
Never mind that the man, comedian Vito Gesualdi, wasn’t the aggressor. Variety had their narrative, and they were sticking to it.
As it turns out, quite a few media outlets have decided to stick with that narrative, as Gesualdi recently pointed out:
"Comedian and videographer Vito Gesualdi screams profanities as he engages with peaceful protesters begging him to leave."
Screams profanities? 🤔
Dude, I just yelled "I love Dave Chappelle!"
The media sucks! 😡 pic.twitter.com/74nkAFMFZp
— YOUTUBE.COM / VITO (@VitoGesualdi) October 21, 2021
(More on that in a moment.)
Oh great, it's a stock Associated Press photo caption so that lie is on dozens of news sites now.
Any lawyers in the house? This is BS. pic.twitter.com/BfKIBXcduE
— YOUTUBE.COM / VITO (@VitoGesualdi) October 21, 2021
Footage from the incident no longer seems to work in tweets that we cited earlier:
This is phenomenal. Man shows up at anti-Dave Chappelle Netflix protest with a sign saying he likes Dave and thinks jokes are funny. Gets accosted by woke mob, has his sign destroyed. https://t.co/KKRgLp269b
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 20, 2021
🚨#BREAKING: Dozens of Netflix employees and their supporters staged a walkout outside Netflix Headquarters
To protest the transphobic comments made by Dave Chappelle in his latest comedy special released earlier this month by the streaming giant pic.twitter.com/zkNnSDaE95
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) October 20, 2021
Weird, right?
And now no way to counter this false narrative when this is what is happening to the video…it has been disabled: pic.twitter.com/SCBX81ZmuA
— Oldspeaker1 📢 (@oldspeaker1) October 21, 2021
Fortunately, Gesualdi has posted video of his own so you can see for yourselves what happened:
My side of the story is up. Full video coming sometime next week.https://t.co/wqzgXxksp4 pic.twitter.com/gejhMlFdI2
— YOUTUBE.COM / VITO (@VitoGesualdi) October 21, 2021
Gesualdi’s friend and fellow comedian Dick Masterson was there as well, and, like Gesualdi, was misrepresented as an aggressor.
Yo @TheCoomunist did you choke somebody?
Somehow the hundreds of cameras failed to record any evidence of this shocking event! pic.twitter.com/vvehOPNd4n
— YOUTUBE.COM / VITO (@VitoGesualdi) October 21, 2021
Here’s a picture of LAPD having a conversation with one of the transphobic counter demonstrators today outside of Netflix. Cops & the klan go hand in hand. pic.twitter.com/BA50xa1i4K
— Jessica (@jessrayerogers) October 21, 2021
I changed my mind. Fund the police and make breathing illegal. https://t.co/Frqe1yMorg
— The Coofunist (@TheCoomunist) October 21, 2021
ahahaha https://t.co/vK4zqGlz3t
— YOUTUBE.COM / VITO (@VitoGesualdi) October 21, 2021
This was also Dick reporting the fact that a dude tackled him to the concrete, not him chumming it up with the cops
— YOUTUBE.COM / VITO (@VitoGesualdi) October 21, 2021
But narrative!
This is the guy who threw me into the concrete—a felony. I believe he may have been invited to the protest by Netflix employees on Netflix’s behalf. I need his name. https://t.co/Dg3tLLTMUT
— The Coofunist (@TheCoomunist) October 21, 2021
Throwing someone into the concrete seems a bit violent for a peaceful protest.
Here's a picture of comedian Dick Masterson, giving the cops a report about the antifa psycho who tackled him to the pavement and almost gave him a concussion.
Activists are reporting it as "the cops hanging out with a transphobe."
🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/CULNe2ezU9
— YOUTUBE.COM / VITO (@VitoGesualdi) October 21, 2021
If you ever want a wild eye-opening experience, go to a protest firsthand, then read the coverage afterwards.
The difference between the reality and the reporting is mind-boggling. They are like different universes entirely.
— YOUTUBE.COM / VITO (@VitoGesualdi) October 21, 2021
It’s almost as if the media aren’t nearly as reliable and trustworthy as they claim to be.
tHe MeDiA iS nOt ThE pRoBlEm https://t.co/NeeTSpkZhz
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 21, 2021
The reason it's risky to do what Vito did isn't that he could have gotten hurt (though he could have). It's risky because the media can collectively decide that your role in the narrative is that of the villain regardless of what actually happened. https://t.co/5vvsucMjAC
— Noam "MF Blum" (@neontaster) October 21, 2021
And that’s exactly what the media have done.
