“Lindsay Ellis” has been a top trending topic on Twitter today.
But why? Who is she and why are so many people interested in her?
Well, she’s a film critic. She also started a left-wing video channel in response to Gamergate. And she’s decided to leave Twitter:
Goodbye. https://t.co/zcpwbq0Q04
— Lindsay Ellis (@thelindsayellis) December 28, 2021
She’s decided to believe because the Outrage Mob has come to cancel her. Apparently over a tweet she has since deleted about Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon.”
Here are the tweets that remain:
Okay this was fun to wake up to – probably going to delete the original tweet even though it's going to screencaps town, but I'd rather them have fun with screencaps than QTs, so I'll just say this – I wasn't referencing the similar setting of Raya and Avatar (tbc)
— Lindsay Ellis (@thelindsayellis) March 26, 2021
Raya more than anything reminded me of a few YA fantasies from the last few years (namely, Children of Blood and Bone and Blood Heir), which are not only not based in Asian folklore (Nigerian and Russian/Chinese respectively) but the authors were openly inspired by TLA
— Lindsay Ellis (@thelindsayellis) March 26, 2021
And considering we have basically an entire generation of (American) writers who are heavily influenced by TLA, my thought was hmm, this is a trend, wonder if there will be a name for this. I wasn't thinking of the specific inspo for TLA and Raya, and that was careless
— Lindsay Ellis (@thelindsayellis) March 26, 2021
I can see where if you squint I was implying all asian-inspired properties are the same, especially if you were already privy to those conversations where I had not seen them. But the basic framework of TLA is becoming popular in fantasy fiction outside of Asian-inspired stuff
— Lindsay Ellis (@thelindsayellis) March 26, 2021
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And that is what I was referring to, and it is truly exhausting to just be constantly blindsided by these really uncharitable interpretations of whatever offhand thought I'm having, especially considering these are properties with all-white creative heads
— Lindsay Ellis (@thelindsayellis) March 26, 2021
And you know what, you're right. Someone once joked I don't tweet like someone with 300k + followers, and they were right too. I don't get the luxury of a throwaway tweet, and I'll keep that in mind going forward.https://t.co/USFvsw1frl
— Lindsay Ellis (@thelindsayellis) March 26, 2021
oh and one other thing — saying a thing is structurally similar to another thing is not a dig. why do people immediately get defensive and think it's a dig? no story is truly original. there was a lot I didn't like about Raya, but its similarity to A:TLA wasn't it ya crazies
— Lindsay Ellis (@thelindsayellis) March 26, 2021
Unfortunately for Lindsay, those tweets weren’t enough to dig her back into the good graces of the Outrage Mob. Honestly, we’re not really sure what’s so egregiously offensive about Ellis’ original “Raya” tweet, but it doesn’t matter what we think. Forget it, Lindsay. It’s Twittertown. And if the mob comes for you, well, God help you.
Lindsay Ellis is literally calling it quits because of that Raya tweet. She has over a million YouTube subscribers and about 9,000 Patrons and her career couldn't survive *one* problematic tweet. That's what operating in that toxic space is like. pic.twitter.com/0WMN6nHFq6
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 28, 2021
Tough break, Lindsay Ellis. Though we can’t say you didn’t have it coming. As Noam Blum, aka @neontaster, discusses out, Ellis’ rude awakening was inevitable:
I'd tell her this directly but she blocked me years ago for being critical of her role in doing this type of shit to other people so…
¯¯¯¯____(ツ)____/¯¯¯¯
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 28, 2021
Oh here's Lindsay scolding Tom Scott because a woman in one of his videos made "transphobic posts" years ago that she deleted and he didn't know about. But I guess a lot has happened in the world since *checks tweet date* Saturday. pic.twitter.com/Cr4YL2K6y2
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 28, 2021
Oof.
Don’t know anything about any of this, but sounds like she got what she earned.
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 28, 2021
She certainly seems to be reaping what she’s been sowing.
She makes excellent videos, but you want to talk oblivious? Go watch her video about the Omageverse writer who threatened to sue her. It's amazing how someone can both participate in, and warn of the dangers of, the same types of behavior simultaneously. https://t.co/QpQrmv1sz5
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 28, 2021
Here it is. I don't remember if watching the previous Omegaverse video of hers is necessary for this but tl;dr one of the authors got mad and threatened to sue her and played victim. https://t.co/h64kiLVEUH
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 28, 2021
I don’t even know what she is talking about. What is problematic? Can you explain or provide some context?
— Skip LaCombe (@skiplacombe) December 28, 2021
Ya I’ve seen this screen grab but I don’t really understand the controversy. Is she saying “all anime looks the same” ?
— Skip LaCombe (@skiplacombe) December 28, 2021
The implication was that she was saying all Asian-inspired media was the same, I think. It's hard to tell what that world is so mad about sometimes.
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 28, 2021
Like we said, we can’t really figure out why Ellis’ tweet set some people off so hard. But people are offended, and that’s all that matters.
For once I'd like to see a cancelled leftist decry a pox on their house and their own previous actions instead of bemoaning the fact that they weren't given the benefit of the doubt for their problematic statement because nominally their politics are "correct."
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 28, 2021
There's no equity in the bank of social justice. You're only as good as your most recent public statement and people in that world accede to outrage authorities instead of deciding for themselves how bad the thing was.
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 28, 2021
Not to mention an under-discussed aspect of cancel culture: People air personal and professional grievances and jealousy against people under the guise of a social justice pile-on. All your old enemies come out of the woodwork to finally get back at you for their petty reasons.
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 28, 2021
OH MY GOD. Thanks to the tipster who told me about this one. Turns out that's EXACTLY what Lindsay is doing here. She has a personal history with Jill Bearup. pic.twitter.com/HTAXqediRe
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 28, 2021
If Lindsay Ellis decided to make her beefs personal, she really can’t be shocked when others return the favor.
Lindsay Ellis quitting because her own fans kept harassing her for allegedly being racist for a tweet she made almost a year ago.
Literally just upset she can't have her cake and eat it too. The audience she wants is not one that wants her.
— Christina Birthdaysty (@ChristinaTasty) December 28, 2021
Honestly it's like watching an abused wife try and rationalise why she stayed so long with her husband.
— Christina Birthdaysty (@ChristinaTasty) December 28, 2021
The audience she wants is volatile and unsupportive and will never assume good intentions no matter who you are, and Ellis comes from edgier humor circles and never fully abandoned that sensibility, and went "too far" one too many times.
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 28, 2021
It's just so surreal too. She made this long ass video where she literally describes her audience. The one she WANTS. The one she ENCOURAGES. pic.twitter.com/3r4fKMTbdN
— Christina Birthdaysty (@ChristinaTasty) December 28, 2021
Too bad that getting canceled is what it took to show Lindsay Ellis where cancel culture can lead, assuming she actually learned something from this and isn’t completely lacking in self-awareness.
Progressive seppuku. https://t.co/gJZL11d88I
— Sophia ‘Kotaku Bully’ Narwitz (@SophNar0747) December 28, 2021
We tried to warn them.
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