Mike Tunison, aka “Christmas Ape” or “XMas Ape” online, is a former writer for The Washington Post and an original Kissing Suzy Kolber founder. In October 2017, he appeared on the “Shitty Media Men” list — if you’ve never heard of that, here’s an explainer — and his writing career was somewhat “cancelled” as a result. He explained everything that happened in a very good Medium article, which contains this section:
The damage to my career seemed equally swift. In the decade leading up to the list, my work was regularly published by more than a dozen outlets and I was frequently offered work. After the leak, that work screeched to a stop. Today, I write for only one outlet I previously contributed to; income that covers only a few smaller bills. I’ve applied for hundreds of conventional office jobs, ranging from PR to administrative assistant to technical writing in an effort to avoid a bankruptcy that could hurt family members whose finances are linked to mine. Yet employers don’t seem to view the four years I spent creating, organizing and running a popular blog as applicable experience. Most days, it’s difficult to envision a path back to a decent life.
I know this post might trigger some people who believe all supposedly shitty men need to be immediately cancelled, but it’s a cool look inside what happens to people on both sides of the equation.
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