Sign up for Digg's morning newsletter The best stories of the day, in your inbox
Subscribe Now
Hide
Video Data Viz Movies and TV Real Estate Internet Culture News One Main Character Memes Relationships Gaming More Less

PLAY STUPID GAMES, WIN STUPID PRIZES

The New York Times And Its Elizabeth Holmes Profile, And More Of This Week's 'One Main Character'

Adwait
Adwait
The New York Times And Its Elizabeth Holmes Profile, And More Of This Week's 'One Main Character'
A questionable profile in the Times, a royalist, a person who doesn't mind their own business, a frustrated take on lunch in America and an old-timer actor trying to create a scene about diversity.
· 23.8k reads ·
·
3
·

Every day somebody says or does something that earns them the scorn of the internet. Here at Digg, as part of our mission to curate what the internet is talking about right now, we rounded up the main characters on Twitter from this past week and held them accountable for their actions.



This week’s characters include an old actor who refuses to believe that the world evolves and changes, a Twitter OG whose frustrations with cooking lunch finally took a sharp turn, an NYC resident who became a lifelong punchline for a friend group, a Royal-admirer and the New York Times for trying to rehabilitate a convicted fraudster.



Tuesday

Richard Dreyfuss

The character: Richard Dreyfuss, Academy Award-winning actor, curmudgeon, boomer, possible racist

The plot: Can you tell that Richard Dreyfuss is old? Like, really old? That's because he said something stupid, racist, ignorant and deplorable. In a recent interview, Dreyfuss said that partisan diversity was killing the arts, and was sad that he could possibly never portray being a "Black man" in a role.

Why do old people continue to do stuff like this? Especially rich people. Just keep quiet and enjoy your money! Nobody asked you! You could use your money and power and influence to help people in need, but no — you have to keep going. Screw you Richard Dreyfuss, you're the worst part of "Jaws." And I'm glad your family left you in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."


The repercussion: Do I even need to say anything in this section? His comments were horrible and shocking, the internet ripped him a new one, and nothing will change. He will not see our tweets, he will not change his ways, and we need to move past him to advance as a society. God this is exhausting, why are people such assholes?


Jared Russo



Monday

Ian Bogost

The character: Ian Bogost, writer, teacher, lunch deconstructor

The plot: Real Twitter heads know, Bogost is an OG. He's a staple writer on the internet, has been tweeting for centuries and has more or less been a pos-vibes presence online. I haven't been plugged into online discourse much over the past few years, so I'm not sure how and when Bogost decided to fire off takes like this, where he was confounded that people cook lunch. "I don’t understand what people do about lunch at work," he wrote.


The repercussion: Now since Bogost doesn't come with a lot of negative baggage, the replies weren't that toxic. But since Twitter's shape-shifted so much since people like Bogost made a name for themselves, they still clowned him.


Sad to see Bogost go all-in on being anti-meal prep.



At least there was a modicum of self awareness.



Adwait Patil



Tuesday

Eric Metaxas

The character: Eric Metaxas, runner, love dispenser, Manhattan neighborhood redistricting activist

The plot: Metaxas, a host, runner and author who lives in NYC, was running in Central Park, like millions do, "in Harlem" — which is where he lost a lot of people — and said that he stopped to yell "Smells like failure!" at four teenagers who were smoking marijuana.


The repercussion: On any other day this tweet would've gone unnoticed. Central Park doesn't go through Harlem, and, for what it's worth, marijuana is legal (sure — not in the parks, but then was Metaxas in the park or in Harlem?) in NYC and you don't really smell it that much. But Metaxas's editorializing really took the cake: He was firm, but friendly and it was act of love. Touché. People don't have time for BS like this, but they have time to dunk on BS like this all day, everyday.

Also the fact that Metaxas chose his words very carefully: Harlem, teenagers. People aren't stupid.


Adwait Patil



Tuesday

Ameer Kotecha

The character: Ameer Kotecha, royalist, easily impressed

The plot: May 6, 2023, saw the UK crown Charles III and his wife Camilla the King and Queen of England. It was a simultaneously fascinating and tiresome event, with all the bizarre rituals and ancient objects you'd expect from an institution as archaic as the monarchy. While it's fun to crack jokes at the King’s expense, though, the coronation is really no laughing matter.

For those of us who aren't royalists, the pomp and pageantry of the coronation is jarring at the best of times — but during a cost of living crisis, when many can't afford to eat or heat their homes, spending an estimated £100 million of taxpayer money on the event is grotesque and indefensible.

Enter: Ameer Kotecha, who tweeted the below photo of the event, claiming that "no other country" could achieve such a display. What are we looking at that's so remarkable, exactly? Some planes and a large crowd?


The repercussion: While some argued that the coronation event wasn’t all that impressive, others sought to inform Kotecha that an multi-million-pound ceremony at the expense of the cash-strapped public is not something to be celebrated.


Darcy Jimenez



Tuesday

Amy Chozick and The New York Times

The character: Amy Chozick, writer, hack, pr-mouthpiece

The plot: Elizabeth Holmes was convicted on multiple counts of defrauding investors, wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Holmes was sentenced to 11.25 years in prison for her criminal activity and will begin it on April 27.

Even after prosecutors alleged that Holmes tried to flee the country after getting convicted, the NYT's published a profile of her — her first interview since 2016 — and tried to rechristen the fraudster as Liz, quite literally.

The repercussion: As long as Twitter is up and running, people who use the site will not have time for bullsh—t like this. The profile and its author, Amy Chozik, were skewered for their decision online. This one's a real head-scratcher. Hate-clicks are clicks too, but you don't even need to get past the headline here. It's just not worth your time.


Adwait Patil



———

Read the previous edition of our One Main Character column, which included a writer who wrote about caffeine addiction, a man who lost his his hard-earned seasoned cast iron and a bigoted boomer musician.


Did we miss a main character from this week? Please send tips to [email protected].

Comments

  1. Vern Briggs 1 year ago

    "Can you tell that Richard Dreyfuss is old? Like, really old? That's because he said something stupid, racist, ignorant and deplorable." I agree, the last 4 things are bad... Why be ageist about it? Seems to put the author on the same playing field as Richard when I read that line.

    1. Maximiliano Wolters 11 months ago

      Yes, the key takeaway from this whole thing is definitely "But who's standing up for famous old rich white men? Won't somebody think about the famous old rich white men? Guys, guys, there's a real risk here that we're tarring famous old rich white men with the same brush, and I really think we need to talk about that more and about their feelings."

  2. Sevan 1 year ago

    Why is this convicted fraud still free and not in jail??

Cut Through The Chaos With Digg Edition

Sign up for Digg's daily morning newsletter to get the most interesting stories. Sent every morning.