Vanity Fair is currently running a series of videos aimed to give political figures such as President Trump, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn “humorous” New Year’s resolutions read by various champagne-swilling editors of the site’s news vertical, Hive. Likewise, the staffers came up with six resolutions for Hillary Clinton that isn’t going over so well with people.
Midway into the video, after some suggestions that Clinton work on a sequel for her book to be called “What the Hell Happened,” and jokes about not forming an exploratory committee for 2020 and taking photos in the woods, came the real kicker. Vanity Fair editor Maya Kosoff suggested that the former Secretary of State take up a hobby in the news year. “Volunteer work, knitting, improv comedy … literally anything that will keep you from running again,” she said.
Maybe it's time for Hillary Clinton to take up a new hobby in 2018 pic.twitter.com/sbE78rA5At
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) December 23, 2017
While the piece was intended to be in good humor, a lame duck joke that a woman with a laundry list of professional accomplishments “take up knitting” after losing the 2016 presidential election obviously comes off as extremely tone deaf and sexist, even when read by a woman. As such, the tweet ratio was in full effect as many piled on to call out Vanity Fair for the questionable dig.
Vanity Fair tl;dr: Six young white people holding glasses of champagne would like Hillary Clinton to abandon her life's work and platform and just shut up. Good to know. https://t.co/cELDKdVmYd
— Summer Brennan (@summerbrennan) December 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/HRCpersists/status/945714314492571649
This video is insulting. You should all be embarrassed of yourselves. Telling a woman what to do-specifically a woman of her accomplishments-is sexist and gross. Enjoy the fallout.
— Jamie Grayson (@TheJamieGrayson) December 27, 2017
Why did they think it was funny for their staff to stand around with champagne and suggest Hillary Clinton take up knitting. https://t.co/mSs4EtV3Wt
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) December 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/NomieDpuma/status/945705094971932672
https://twitter.com/bananafitz/status/945840227771404289
https://twitter.com/bananafitz/status/945841062983200768
https://twitter.com/bananafitz/status/945844937647673345
Current and former Clinton advisers Adam Parkhomenko and Peter Daou also weighed in on the controversy:
I went to bed on Christmas not disliking @VanityFair.
But, ya know. 2017
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) December 27, 2017
Agree. It was embarrassingly not funny. And awkward to watch. I want to believe they gave each of those individuals an opt-out opportunity but they genuinely looked happy to do it.
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) December 27, 2017
So @VanityFair decided that the best way to end 2017 was to take a repulsive cheap shot at @HillaryClinton, one of the most accomplished women in the history of the United States.
Now #CancelVanityFair is moving.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) December 27, 2017
I ended 2015 defending Hillary Clinton from sexist attacks.
I ended 2016 defending Hillary Clinton from sexist attacks.
I'm ending 2017 defending @HillaryClinton from sexist attacks.
So much for my Twitter break…— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) December 27, 2017
Kosoff responded to the backlash on Twitter late Tuesday, tweeting that she doesn’t “appreciate being taken out of context to make [her] seem super sexist.” “This wasn’t a hillary hit piece either, fwiw! we made silly new years resolutions for a bunch of politicians,” she added, but later protected her tweets.
(Via Huffington Post)