Author & liberal Stephen King tweets that quality trumps diversity… and woke crowds are sharpening the blades
Stephen King has found himself the target of Twitter’s woke army, after having the audacity to argue that quality is more important than diversity when it comes to art. His attempt to clarify the issue only brought more attacks.
The famed author – revered by many on social media for his outspoken liberal views – was barraged by angry messages after weighing in on a debate sparked by this year’s Academy Award nominees, who have been criticized for not being adequately diverse.
Noting that as a writer he is allowed to offer nominations in three categories – Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Screenplay – King disclosed that “the diversity issue” never factors into his decision-making.
“I would never consider diversity in matters of art. Only quality. It seems to me that to do otherwise would be wrong,” he tweeted, apparently blissfully ignorant of the avalanche of self-righteous internet outrage that would soon descend upon him.
His remarks were so traumatic for director Ava DuVernay that she lamented how she wanted to crawl “back to bed” after being crushed by someone she had (previously?) admired.
When you wake up, meditate, stretch, reach for your phone to check on the world and see a tweet from someone you admire that is so backward and ignorant you want to go back to bed. https://t.co/nPXOeAebkb
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) January 14, 2020
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Others lambasted King for his “white privilege” and said he should be “canceled” – the colloquial term for being banished from public discourse.
Inundated by frothing internet screeds about his white male privilege, the world-renowned horror author tried to clarify his beliefs with a series of follow-up tweets. He emphasized that everyone should have a “fair shot” at winning awards, but that certain people are “badly under-represented” in Hollywood.
“You can’t win awards if you’re shut out of the game,” he noted, correcting his previous ‘thought crime’. Still, some Twitter users accused King of trying to cover up his own prejudice.
Others took pity on the writer. “Oh boy, the circular firing squad of ‘wokeness’ begins,” read one reply to his seemingly inexcusable faux pas.
Oh boy… the circular firing squad of ‘wokeness’ begins… ?
Only way to win this game is to not play it.
— ZUBY: (@ZubyMusic) January 14, 2020
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Author & liberal Stephen King tweets that quality trumps diversity… and woke crowds are sharpening the blades