Filed under: Scandals, Wonkette, Alex Pareene, Ken Layne, Nick Denton
Many Big Head DC readers were not surprised yesterday after Wonkette was lambasted across the Internet for using what many perceive to be antisemitic words to refer to Jews. As some of our readers have noted in the past, the site often uses homophobic slurs when its editors refer to the gay population.
What did take many media insiders off guard was Wonkette’s reaction to the controversy, with editor Ken Layne threatening to sue the site that claimed Antisemitism in the first place — for libel, of all things. In an effort to tone down the rhetoric (at the request of his bosses, we’ve learned), Layne later said that he was trying to be funny.
“It seems like pure bluster from Ken, doesn’t it?” pondered one Reason magazine staffer who’s familiar with the situation. “My guess is he got flustered by a bunch of attacks and decided to take some aggression out on this blogger.”
The same source noted that Layne “does seem to take a lot of vacations.” So maybe he’s just stressed?
But was he also joking and/or stressed when he said Gawker’s “shareholders” would not be pleased that a Jewish blog would question Wonkette’s writings? Nick Denton, the owner of Gawker Media, of which Wonkette is part, has never publicly said the company has shareholders.
Despite the scandal, some said it’s par for the course considering the source. “I don’t think that Wonkette is antisemitic, unless of course you consider that they’re pretty much anti-everything,” one Wall Street Journal reporter told us.
But what does Michelle Malkin think? Wonkette did slander/libel a while back.
What’s this whole deal about Layne threatening to tell the shareholders? What the hell? Trying to stomp down people with that kind of threat is worse than some of the political corruption they try to make fun of.
Ken Layne needs to go back to his “garage” rock band and playing covers of REO Speedwagon at bars in Herndon. As bad and cheesy as he sounds as a musician, it’s more tolerable to the average human than his writing is.
I thought Ken was from the West Cost?
Didn’t he live in Cali there after he got fired from Sploid?
He does live on the West Coast, and I can only imagine what kind of Herndon-esque dumps there hire him to play covers of bad ’80s music. Oh well, the bad music matches his bad hair at least.
His hateful (and boring) writing was the reason Sploid went belly-up. How he landed the Wonkette job is beyond me. I guess they needed a grandfatherly type around to babysit the infantile Alex Pareene.
Remember when the Wonkette staff showed up at BHDC’s party and slobbered all over the guests and guzzled free cocktails like they were eating free cheese in the Welfare line?? They are so tacky!
Yeah, I was there.
Well I wasn’t there. PLEASE tell me all about it!
Well, I saw a fat Wonkette intern come in Alex Pareene’s place because Pareene was too scared to face the Big Head DC staff. Then, the intern drank a ton of free booze, ogled Miss DC’s Kate Michael, and didn’t even interview the guest of honor. Very trashy.
I think I know that fat pig you’re talking about. That guy is a real degenerate. Personally, I think Musto should be happy to have not had to talk to him or smell his bad breath.
[…] Earlier: “Antisemitic Wonkette” Story Has Legs; DC Web Site Backs Off Plans To Sue Jewish Site For Libel ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. email this | digg this | del.icio.us | reddit | permalink […]
[…] Harry? | Democratic Logo Contains Hidden Phallus | Rev. Jerry Falwell: Gone But Not Forgotten More Hypocrisy from Wonkette Thursday October 11th, 2007 2:51 PM by BHDC Staff Filed under: Wonkette, Bassackwards, Ann Coulter, Ken Layne Editor Ken Layne takes Ann Coulter to task today for saying something totally ludicrous about Jewish people. Which would normally be a pretty OK thing to do, if he doesn’t mind inadvertently shilling her new book, of course. Mind you, though, Layne was the same Wonkette editor who threatened a Jewish blogger with a libel suit earlier this year after the blogger said Wonkette was antisemitic. And Layne ultimately apologized. […]
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