Journalist Julie Burchill lost a book contract with Hachette after she was accused of passing Islamophobic comments on Twitter. The book titled "Welcome to the Woke Trials: How #Identity Killed Progressive Politics" was to be published by the Hachette imprint Little, Brown. The publishers said that they have decided not to publish Welcome to the Woke Trials because of Burchill's use of indefensible language while communicating with another journalist Ash Sarkar. Moreover, Little, Brown further added that Burchill “crossed a line with regard to race and religion”.
Sarkar said that Burchill quite openly subjected the former to Islamophobia. In this line, the publishers also brought down the contract of publishing her book publicly by giving a statement- “We will no longer be publishing Julie Burchill’s book. This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We believe passionately in freedom of speech at Little, Brown and we have always published authors with controversial or challenging perspectives – and we will continue to do so."
What You Should Know
- Journalist Julie Burchill's book contract has been cancelled due to her Islamophobic comments on Twitter.
- Burchill tweeted an anti-Muslim comment for journalist Ash Sarkar.
- The Twitter spat started after Sarkar quote tweeted a 2012 article by journalist Rod Liddle.
Julie Burchill's Spat With Ash Sarkar
On Sunday, 13 December, Burchill and Ash got involved in a Twitter spat when the latter posted a Twitter post criticising journalist Rod Liddle for a 2012 article in Spectator. Liddle in his article claimed to have not chosen a teaching career because he was afraid that he would become a sex offender.
Liddle wrote- “The only thing stopping me from being a teacher was that I could not remotely conceive of not trying to shag the kids. Further, he added, “We’re talking secondary level here, by the way – and even then I don’t think I’d have dabbled much below year ten, as it is now called.”
Sarkar posted screenshots of Liddle's article on her Twitter post. In the tweet, she wrote, "Saw these screenshots pop up on the TL, and thought they must be a parody. I checked and it turns out that yes, Rod Liddle really did write an article 8 years ago saying that he didn’t become a teacher because he “could not remotely conceive of not trying to shag the kids.”
Following this, Burchill quote tweeted Sarkar's tweet about Liddle's article. The former wrote, "Can you please remind me of the age Prophet Muhammad's first wife? Thank you in anticipation!" This tweet irked a spat and a deluge of backlash against the journalist.
In reply to Burchill's tweet, Sarkar wrote, "What's the Prophet Mohammad got to do with my criticism of Rod Liddle? Are you asking me this because I'm Muslim, or is this your preferred way of sticking up for all your journo mates who like to make jokes about statutory rape?"
The tweet was further followed by multiple accusations. The Burchill-Sarkar Twitter row caught the attention of the netizens and on 15 December 2020, Burchill posted on Facebook that her book contract has been cancelled.
The English journalist Burchill is a frequent contributor to The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian.
Also Read: Muslim Woman Trolled After Her Photo Near Terror Site Goes Viral
Sanskriti Tiwari is an intern with SheThePeople.TV.
/shethepeople/media/agency_attachments/iUYfaBbcMozaYLoGnoov.png)
Julie Burchill's Book Contract Cancelled For Her Islamophobic Comments
Journalist Julie Burchill is a frequent contributor to The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian.
Journalist Julie Burchill lost a book contract with Hachette after she was accused of passing Islamophobic comments on Twitter. The book titled "Welcome to the Woke Trials: How #Identity Killed Progressive Politics" was to be published by the Hachette imprint Little, Brown. The publishers said that they have decided not to publish Welcome to the Woke Trials because of Burchill's use of indefensible language while communicating with another journalist Ash Sarkar. Moreover, Little, Brown further added that Burchill “crossed a line with regard to race and religion”.
Sarkar said that Burchill quite openly subjected the former to Islamophobia. In this line, the publishers also brought down the contract of publishing her book publicly by giving a statement- “We will no longer be publishing Julie Burchill’s book. This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We believe passionately in freedom of speech at Little, Brown and we have always published authors with controversial or challenging perspectives – and we will continue to do so."
What You Should Know
Julie Burchill's Spat With Ash Sarkar
On Sunday, 13 December, Burchill and Ash got involved in a Twitter spat when the latter posted a Twitter post criticising journalist Rod Liddle for a 2012 article in Spectator. Liddle in his article claimed to have not chosen a teaching career because he was afraid that he would become a sex offender.
Liddle wrote- “The only thing stopping me from being a teacher was that I could not remotely conceive of not trying to shag the kids. Further, he added, “We’re talking secondary level here, by the way – and even then I don’t think I’d have dabbled much below year ten, as it is now called.”
Sarkar posted screenshots of Liddle's article on her Twitter post. In the tweet, she wrote, "Saw these screenshots pop up on the TL, and thought they must be a parody. I checked and it turns out that yes, Rod Liddle really did write an article 8 years ago saying that he didn’t become a teacher because he “could not remotely conceive of not trying to shag the kids.”
Following this, Burchill quote tweeted Sarkar's tweet about Liddle's article. The former wrote, "Can you please remind me of the age Prophet Muhammad's first wife? Thank you in anticipation!" This tweet irked a spat and a deluge of backlash against the journalist.
In reply to Burchill's tweet, Sarkar wrote, "What's the Prophet Mohammad got to do with my criticism of Rod Liddle? Are you asking me this because I'm Muslim, or is this your preferred way of sticking up for all your journo mates who like to make jokes about statutory rape?"
The tweet was further followed by multiple accusations. The Burchill-Sarkar Twitter row caught the attention of the netizens and on 15 December 2020, Burchill posted on Facebook that her book contract has been cancelled.
The English journalist Burchill is a frequent contributor to The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian.
Also Read: Muslim Woman Trolled After Her Photo Near Terror Site Goes Viral
Sanskriti Tiwari is an intern with SheThePeople.TV.