The New York Times freelance editor who was dismissed last week after posting an apparently pro-Biden tweet fired back at the paper Tuesday for implying she was let go for additional reasons.
Lauren Wolfe was widely criticized last week for a pre-inauguration tweet that read, “Biden landing at Joint Base Andrews now. I have chills.” She also wrote that the Trump administration was “childish” for not giving President Biden a military plane for his flight to Washington, but later deleted the tweet after learning Mr. Biden had chosen to fly privately, Business Insider reported.
Two days later, freelance journalist Yashar Ali broke the news that The Times had severed its relationship with Ms. Wolfe. The paper later issued a statement suggesting Ms. Wolfe had been fired for additional reasons, which she denies.
“For privacy reasons we don’t go into the details of personnel matters, but we can say that we didn’t end someone’s employment over a single tweet,” said Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha. “Out of respect for the individuals involved, we don’t plan to comment further.”
The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple called the statement “dreadful,” saying it “clearly insinuates that there were unspecified instances of substandard performance” by Ms. Wolfe.
In an interview, Ms. Wolfe told Mr. Wemple the “chills” tweet was “the only reason they fired me.” She said her manager had explained to her that the paper couldn’t be associated with such a tweet.
“The people I’m mad at are the people who put out the statement,” Ms. Wolfe said. “I respected tremendously the people I worked with. I respected them to the end of the earth and still do. They were the end-all, the be-all.
“Every day, I was scared I was going to do something wrong,” she added. “So whatever they’re implying, it’s a shot at my reputation, which I worked very carefully to build.”
The Times workers’ union released a statement Sunday saying it is “investigating the situation.”
“The New York Times management decision to terminate the employment of Lauren Wolfe was done outside of the just cause protections of our contract due to her classification as a casual employee,” the union said. “We have reached out to her offering support and representation.”
