Newspaper columnist Stu Bykofsky is SLAMMED by rival writer at his farewell party

The moment controversial US newspaper columnist was ROASTED by rival writer at his farewell party who accused him of sexism and ‘having a taste for child prostitutes’ – before he blasts back accusing her of telling ‘f**king lies’

  • Columnist Stu Bykofsky departed The Philadelphia Inquirer last Friday
  • His farewell party featured a scathing speech delivered by his rival colleague Inga Saffron – a Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic 
  • She accused Bykofsky of sexism, neglecting his journalistic duties and ‘having a taste for child prostitutes’
  • The remarkable exchange was recorded by another employee and shared with Philadelphia Magazine 

A showdown occurred on the floor of a newsroom after a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic slammed a rival writer during a speech at his farewell party.  

Controversial columnist Stu Bykofsky left The Philadelphia Inquirer last week after 47 years in the job, with his colleagues holding a retirement bash last Friday. 

Things appeared to be going smoothly at the event, until Bykofsky’s nemesis – architecture critic Inga Saffron – was invited to share some parting words, which were recorded and shared with Philadelphia Magazine. 

‘Stu and I have not been on speaking terms for at least a decade, [so] very clearly, I’m the logical person to offer the opposing view,’ Saffron stated, before she launched into a savage indictment of her foe. 

Saffron quickly accused Bykofsky of neglecting his duties as a journalist by failing to reach out to a bicycle coalition when he wrote a column condemning cyclists in the city. 

Inga Saffron (left) delivered a scathing speech at the farewell party of her Philadelphia Inquirer colleague Stu Bykofsky (right) last week 

'That is a total f**king lie!' Bykofsky wasn't taking Saffrom's criticism lightly, responding with rage

‘That is a total f**king lie!’ Bykofsky wasn’t taking Saffrom’s criticism lightly, responding with rage 

‘That is a lie!’ Bykofsky interjected gruffly, as gathered colleagues laughed nervously. 

‘That is a lie! I spoke to them, and I can tell you who I spoke to! THAT IS A GODDAMN LIE!’ he continued yelling, as he pointed his finger at Saffron in anger. 

‘I don’t want to stand here and listen to this bulls**t!’ he then spluttered.  

However, Saffron wasn’t done with roasting her rival – calmly continuing with her savage speech. 

‘So we disagree on just about everything of his three favorite subjects – pistols, prostitutes and puppies, although he we might find common ground on the puppies… ‘ Saffron mused. 

She continued: ‘For all that, I did read Stu sometimes, not always, not every crazy column,  but some of them -and then he left me outraged. Like the infamous column about his taste for his child prostitutes in Thailand..’

Bykofsky has been a long-time columnist with The Philadelphia Inquirer, and has publicly sparred with his rival Saffron

Saffron (pictured) won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for her work with The Philadelphia Inquirer

Bykofsky (left) has been a long-time columnist with The Philadelphia Inquirer, and has publicly sparred with his rival Saffron (right)

‘That is a total f**king lie!’ Bykosky interjected in rage. 

‘That’s online, that’s still available!’ Saffron insisted, referring to a controversial 2011 piece he wrote about Thai sex workers. 

She then accused Bykosky of sexism, describing him as a ‘newspaperman, not a journalist’.   

‘He hails from a time when people who put out newspapers were men, and it is not lost on me that some of the gratuitous attacks were leveled against women. So with his leaving, I hope we are getting a little further away from that unfortunate time.’

At the end of the speech, Bykofsky took to the floor and blasted: ‘The last time we spoke was about 40 years ago… Half the things she said were lies’.

Bykofsky is now launching his own blog

Bykofsky is now launching his own blog

The showdown has to be broken up by another employee at The Philadelphia Inquirier, before Bykofsky again grumbled that Saffron had told ‘sack of s**t lies’. 

One colleague who was in the room at the time told Philadelphia Magazine that the public spat was ‘absolutely terrible’.

‘I couldn’t believe it was happening,’ the anonymous witness said. 

Saffron remains at The Philadelphia Inquirer, while Bykofsky is now launching his own blog. 

DailyMail.com has reached out to both parties for comment.

More video footage of the farewell speech is available at Philadelphia Magazine. 

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