Natasha Tynes sues her publisher after she lost her book deal for tweeting a picture of a black train worker eating on the train.
What We Know:
- In May, Tynes went viral when she tweeted a picture of a female worker eating on the Metro train in Washington, D.C. Her caption read, “When you’re on your morning commute and see @wmata employee in UNIFORM eating on the train I thought we were not allowed to eat on the train. This is unacceptable. Hope @wmata responds.”
- After her post, Tynes was instantly deemed “anti-black” on social media platforms and her publisher, Rare Bird Lit felt it best to cut ties with her. Since then, Tynes has complained of receiving death threats and having suicidal thoughts. She is suing the company for $13.4 million.
- In her lawsuit, she claims that she endured cyber bullying that included racial slurs and death threats. Because of this, she was forced to move back to Jordan with her family. She also said the events caused her alternative emotional distress. She was hospitalized for severe chest pain and anxiety.
- Tynes called Rare Bird an “all white company” in the lawsuit and claimed they painted the wrong picture of her after the incident. Rare Bird made a statement that they aren’t concerned with the “baseless” lawsuit. They feel Tynes is upset with the consequences of her own actions. Rare Bird said, “it is ironic that, having taken advantage of her First Amendment rights with an ill advised tweet, Ms Tynes now seeks to stifle and punish use of those very same rights of a respected book publisher who legitimately expressed its opinions of her conduct, rather than take responsibility for her own actions.”
- The company also noted that Tynes book, “They Called Me Wyatt” had pre-orders of less than 50 copies and only a few hundred were on schedule to be printed.
Tynes has since deleted the tweet along with her personal website and apologized.
