The New York Times has terminated its romance columnist after she reshared a post on a progressive social media outlet slamming the paper’s coverage of a new Congressional investigation accusing the president of rape.
The paper published a story in late October reporting on a new call from the House Judiciary Committee to investigate Donald Trump‘s ties with the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Independent and former journalists on Bluesky criticized the piece for not including the word ‘rape’ or detailing accusations against the president. Trump has never been charged with or convicted of rape.
Marisa Kabas, an independent journalist, then emailed The Times to ask for an explanation of their coverage and shared the correspondence online.
Mark Jacob, a former editor at the Chicago Tribune, reshared the post and called the justification for omitting the allegation ‘unacceptable.’
The Times romance writer and columnist Olivia Waite reshared the post, which seemingly caught the attention of her editors at the publication.
Waite told blogger SB Sarah that she received an email from Book Review editor Tina Jordan after her repost, stating that she was ‘no longer a good fit’ for her column after expressing her sentiments about the paper online.
‘Last Thursday on Bluesky I reposted two of Marisa Kabas’ criticisms of the NYT’s coverage of the new rape allegations against the president,’ Waite said in a statement.
Olivia Waite, a romance writer and columnist for The New York Times, was terminated after reposting a negative comment about the paper. Picture source: Instagram / @o_wow_waite
Waite said The Times declined to continue her contract after she reshared content slamming the publication for neglecting to include the word ‘rape’ in a new report about the president. Picture source: Instagram / @o_wow_waite
‘On Friday the Times declined to continue my contract as a fiction columnist, via a one-paragraph email praising the quality of my work but citing my presumably negative feelings about the NYT as inferred from my Bluesky posts, which they admitted they have been monitoring.’
Waite continued that romance writers often grapple with topics like sex and rape, arguing that the public should not be ‘detached when discussing real-life rape.’
‘And it appears that the paper’s ideal of journalistic objectivity and nonpartisan stance consists of not naming rape allegations as such when they apply to a sitting president, on the eve of a national midterm election,’ she said.
Waite added that she had ‘no regrets’ and argued she was a critic first and foremost. ‘The value of being neutral depends entirely on what you’re staying neutral about,’ she said.
Waite also shared another post on Bluesky about her termination that argues it was ‘not a free speech issue.’
‘The first amendment applies to the government restricting speech. Not the New York Times. It’s easy got be confused given how much water the Times carries for this administration!!’
The report that launched the controversy detailed a call from the House Judiciary Committee to investigate Donald Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein
Waite has not shared a public statement on her termination. She has edited her Bluesky bio to read: ‘Romance fiction columnist emerita for the NYTBR.’ Her Instagram bio also reads: ‘Former columnist for the NYT Book Review.’
The NYT report that launched the controversy detailed a new demand from a group of House Democrats calling for an independent special counsel to investigate Trump’s ties to Epstein.
Aides for the Judiciary Committee argued in the document that the president allegedly ‘abused, assaulted, and even raped numerous women alongside, and in coordination with, the most infamous sex trafficker in history.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to The NYT and Waite for comment.
