A Washington Examiner reporter ignited the vitriol of thousands on Twitter when he tweeted a creepy photo Thursday of elected Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and remarked on her clothing.
“Hill staffer sent me this photo of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now,” Eddie Scarry wrote. “I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles.”
In a matter of minutes, the tweet was ratio’d, which means it gained a much higher number of replies than likes or tweets. By the time of writing, at least 13,000 people had replied to the photo, most to mock or criticize Scarry for commenting on a congresswoman’s outfit under the guise of journalism.
Last week, Ocasio-Cortez called out Fox News reporters who scoffed her for saying it would be tough to afford an apartment in Washington, D.C.
1. @FoxNews, why can’t any of your anchors say my name correctly? It’s been 5 months.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 9, 2018
2. It is bizarre to see 1%-salaried anchors laugh at the US housing crisis.
3. Never purchased pricey clothes + always told my story. But repeating lies until they are believed is your thing. https://t.co/Py5aXFi3Z4
But Scarry’s tweet goes beyond an illogical criticism of her progressive politics. His post shows a photo Ocasio-Cortez from behind, makes presumptions about her clothing, and refers to the 29-year-old as a “girl.” And as some pointed on Twitter, it’s apparently not the first time Scarry has been known to share inappropriate photos of women’s backsides.
https://twitter.com/SamAdlerBell/status/1063187041272373249
As he tweeted weak defenses, people on Twitter continued blasting Scarry.
https://twitter.com/eScarry/status/1063186500857331713?
https://twitter.com/eScarry/status/1063190834848378881
Hill staffer sent me this pic of some birds they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that coat don’t look like a bird who struggles. pic.twitter.com/cBG0LddiPs
— Stephanie Tinsley (@AgentTinsley) November 15, 2018
Even alt-right personality Mike Cernovich wasn’t onboard with the tweet, advising Scarry to “delete this.”
Delete this. https://t.co/Klzxj5PbTS
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) November 15, 2018
Ocasio Cortez also replied, blasting Scarry’s misogyny.
Oh, does @eScarry think he can delete his misogyny without an apology?
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 16, 2018
I don’t think so. You’re a journalist – readers should know your bias. pic.twitter.com/2KJuiPsUR2
Update 7:43am CT, Nov. 16: Scarry deleted his tweet, and offered a half-hearted apology where he said people misinterpreted his tweet.
https://twitter.com/eScarry/status/1063230377073041409
