CNN’s Dylan Byers has come under fire for his ‘disgusting’ tweet bemoaning the ‘talent drain’ that he believes the recent allegations of sexual harassment has caused in the media industry.
‘Beyond the pain/humiliation women have endured (which is of course the paramount issue), it’s worth taking stock of the incredible drain of talent from media/entertainment taking place right now,’ Byers tweeted.
‘Never has so much talent left the industry all at once,’ he added.
But after tweeting that statement out, it appeared that he soon regretted it as several people took to Twitter to call him out.
Journalist Dylan Byers (pictured) has come under fire for his ‘disgusting’ tweet bemoaning the ‘talent drain’ that recent allegations of sexual harassment has caused in the media industry
Byers tweeted the above statement on Tuesday shortly after 5.30pm
‘As penance for this terrible take u should give your job to a woman who left journalism in her early 20s after being sexually harassed,’ Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, the culture editor at Jezebel, tweeted in response.
‘Dylan do you need a woman to explain to you why this was a bad tweet,’ New Yorker writer Helen Rosner tweeted.
Another Twitter user went on to try and clarify what they believed Byers was trying to say.
‘What Dylan Byers meant to say is that it sucks that sexual predators are finally getting punished for their actions because he really enjoys binge-watching House of Cards and Charlie Rose reruns,’ the user said.
After hundreds of commenters lashed out at Byers, he later deleted his tweet.
‘As penance for this terrible take u should give your job to a woman who left journalism in her early 20s after being sexually harassed,’ Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, the culture editor at Jezebel, tweeted in response
Another Twitter user went on to try and clarify what they believed Byers was trying to say
‘I’ve deleted my previous tweet. It was poorly worded and didn’t properly convey my intended observation,’ Byers wrote without apologizing for the damaging comment.
But that tweet was also met with criticism by several people who felt they understood exactly what Byers meant, while some even asked him to clarify.
‘I’m really curious to see how you reword this… The question should be about the lost talent of women who walked away from careers in media/entertainment or were shunned by their peers because of their abuser’s power over them in one way or another,’ one Twitter user replied.
One user said: ‘You know what’s a lesson we’ve learned in the past few weeks? apologies without the word “sorry” aren’t apologies.’
‘It was disgusting but extremely clear. You are only deleting because you got backlash,’ another user said.
Byers seemed to be referring to the recent ousting of CBS’s Charlie Rose and the dismissal of NBC News and MSNBC contributor Mark Halperin.
After hundreds of commenters lashed out at Byers (pictured), he later deleted his tweet
But that tweet was also met with criticism by several people who felt they understood exactly what Byers meant, while some even asked him to clarify
Rose was fired by CBS News after three more employees came forward on Tuesday to accuse him of improper sexual behavior, bringing the total number of women with allegations against the veteran broadcast journalist to 16.
‘Two of the women who came forward at CBS say they are not ready for the details of their allegations to be made public,’ correspondent Bianna Golodryga reported on the CBS Evening News Tuesday night.
‘But a third woman alleges Rose whispered a sexual innuendo while touching her inappropriately at a work-related event.’
The latest allegations came just hours after Rose was fired by CBS.
Others in the media industry who have been accused of sexual harassment include New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush, former head of news at NPR Michael Oreskes and many more.