nepo babies nepo babies nepo babies

writers are the worst people alive

There I was, having brunch at my favorite restaurant, blissful and not knowing what was going on online at all. 

Then my cousin asked me my opinion on ‘the Lena drama’ I suppose because I am known amongst my family for being the Too Online one. I was so out of the loop that I asked if she was referring to Lena Waithe or Lena Dunham! Oh, how innocent I was.

She began to explain the situation and tried to show me the second TikTok — the one where this Lena describes what a great writer she is — and I pushed the phone away because though I attempt to hide in my old haggard shell, I still am allergic to writers who brag about themselves.

I played this off by yelling “WRITERS ARE SO ANNOYING” at the same time my cousin yelled “WHITE GAYS ARE SO ANNOYING!” and you know, how true it all became. As a writer and a white gay, we are both qualified to insult our ilk. And this situation indeed proves how often one’s own ilk deserves insulting.

I don’t even go to the movies anymore. I actually turned down an invitation to see this specific movie because COVID has made me lose my taste for going to the movie theater. Not for like, COVID and/or breathing reasons. For a much lamer reason, which is … I canNOT sit through two hours in a dark room without being able to get up and dink around and/or fall asleep. I like playing on my phone! I like texting! I’m sorry! I’ll just watch it at my house later if I feel like it. 

So to quickly recap the ‘what happened’ portion — umm Bad Lena reviewed Bodies Bodies Bodies and made a comment about boobs — that the film was an advertisement for cleavage. Then one of the stars of the film (Amandla Stenberg) direct messaged Lena: "Great review, maybe if you had gotten your eyes off my tits, you could have watched the movie."

Lena took this DM to TikTok and said, among other things, ““I’m posting it because I don’t want this person who has more social power than me to think that it’s fucking okay to do something like this.” Online fight ensues, everyone on earth weighs in, etc etc.

So this is the type of thing I would have thought I’d been able to squarely avoid, as a person who no longer watches current movies and thus doesn’t read movie reviews. (I do, however, read ten year old reviews of Homeland episodes…so if you have any favorites, please, do direct me towards them.) But no, this horror managed to penetrate my thick outer brain membrane, as everything in this cursed world of Being Online eventually does. 

As many have rightly pointed out: if a star DM’ed you…..you simply go with it. I literally spend half my time on Instagram scheming to get Aaron Rodgers to notice my heart eye DMs. I have also criticized Aaron Rodgers online … you see two things can be true at once. But I digress. Email me Aaron!!!

Amandla eventually replied: "It's quite surprising, but I guess it shouldn't be surprising at this point, the amount of commentary that I receive on my boobs is so extreme, and this has happened since I was a teenager. I can literally be wearing a T-shirt, and just because of the size of my boobs, there will be some sort of sexualization or commentary on my chest.” As a person of ‘people are always looking at my boobs’ experience, I would be naturally inclined to side w/ Ms. Amandla regardless of everything else that went off the rails in this ordeal.

Of course, commenting on your review of a film based on the amount of cleaveage being shown is a juvenile criticism – but that is indeed what you get with film criticism by a juvenile. Everyone knows that if you’re under 25 you’re still a teenager! If you’re smart, you use and abuse that power to be cute and dumb and fun for as long as possible. Definitely don’t waste that time getting people to take you seriously! You’re fighting a losing battle and also just literally enjoy being a baby. DEFINITELY don’t waste that time pulling sneaky shit that people will rightfully call you out for.

jordan • they/them @jd_occasionally

Lena wrote a critique behind a paywall, got mad that the critique felt misogynist to the black queer woman in the movie, then tried to post a dm out of context so Amandla could be dogpiled. That’s quite literally the “social power” in question

Pop Crave @PopCrave

Lena Wilson explains why she reposted Amandla Stenberg’s DM about her #BodiesBodiesBodies review, which Wilson dubbed a “95-minute advertisement for cleavage”: “I don’t want this person who has more social power than me to think that it’s fucking okay to do something like this.” https://t.co/S0BadaoRWV

I admire Amandla for laughing through her instagram story reply (yes, this went back and forth through several social media mediums, sorry for not recounting the entire play by play. But also not sorry. Lots of people have done that you can just google it.) All you can ever do is laugh! It is the only response! 

Whitney Alese @TheReclaimed

Lena Wilson, a nepotism hire at the NYTIMES masquerading as a film critic when her criticisms are as mediocre as she truly is, decided to call Amandla Stenberg’s film “bodies, bodies, bodies” a “95 minute ad for cleavage.” This is how they were dressed…

‘A nepotism hire masquerading as a film critic’ is such a good line! I am both tired and not tired of the rollout of nepotism babies on twitter dot com. Tired because it’s depressing, not tired because it’s funny. 

If you have to ask yourself if your parent was culturally influential enough to help you with your position, the answer is so obviously yes. It’s a privilege to have parents who READ the New York Times, let alone parents who write for it! (My parents DID read the New York Times but did NOT write for it, my mom is a freelance law editor and my dad was his mom’s elder caretaker. Become a paying subscriber today! teehee)

Meanwhile, things got SOOO much worse when someone on TikTok asked LW how she got her niche position at the New York Times. Instead of the obvious and true answer (see above, dad editor, etc etc,) she replied

“Number one and the most crucial thing is that I am a very talented writer” Obsessing over one’s own talent is, well, definitely #vintage23, but also indicative of someone who is engaging in any kind of art more for self validation than for either a living or the love of the game. People who have to make a living actually worry far less about talent than getting the work done accurately and on time. People who care about the art like to be challenged to be better rather than commenting on how they are already great.

“I have a point of view and I am good at expressing it,” she continued. Okay honestly at this point I am starting to feel bad, it’s just so juvenile and embarrassing to talk about yourself like this! I can’t even keep making fun of it without feeling guilty! I’ll just say that LW said ‘this sure is something’ twice within the first few lines of her Twitter tirade. A bit of a self-knock against her claim to be a great and talented writer if I do say so myself.

Something that I really love and find almost always plays out to be true is that people will tell on themselves, people will show their asses, people will absolutely ruin their own lives if you let them. I used to believe in revenge, and to be honest, revenge is still very good, but you don’t have to expend your own energy to do it. If someone deserves to be ruined they will make it happen all by themselves. 

I wish this ended here, because then it would mostly be fun and silly. But alas, psychotic nepo babies always have a darker secret lurking under the surface.

fruity dave @homo_mal

just remembered how beloved NYT critic @lenalwilson was in the notorious facebook group "bandits" where people would convince trans men & trans mascs to detransition because we're all just confused lesbians

On a serious note, it is really horrifying to see that anyone with a cultural platform has ever participated in this kind of behavior. It may not be surprising, given the context and the absolute air of BS rising from this supposed film critic, but that doesn’t make it any less upsetting. Being a terf and/or displaying any kind of terf-y behavior to try and dissuade people from their identities is evil and inexcusable.

fruity dave @homo_mal

i remember joining this terf cult on facebook when i was early in my transition and it was incredibly damaging to developing my sense of self, because people like @lenalwilson would try & pass off "gender critical" talking points to make trans masculine people look like traitors

Any behavior that is transmysoginist should be put on blast, full stop. One of the few good things the internet is for is to file away the disgusting things that supposedly self-righteous people do in their secret corners and posting it on a later date. I’m glad that this user felt comfortable coming forward and sharing this.

In the end, if you actually read the NYT review, which I wish I hadn’t, the author criticizes the film in several ways that end up being apt descriptions of her own behavior: “But this film is not special, and like its shallow characters, it is persistently unaware of its own inanity,” could just as easily read, Lena Wilson is not special, and like her shallow opinions, she is persistently unaware of her own inanity.

Maxwell Neely-Cohen @nhyphenc

Who is the best all-time nepotism baby?

Answers to this question welcome in the comments :)