Twitter Users Drag WaPo For Insulting Debbie Harry

By Kristy Puchko | Social Media | September 30, 2019 |

By Kristy Puchko | Social Media | September 30, 2019 |

Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry is a punk rock icon best-known for songs like “Call Me,” “Heart of Glass,” and “Rapture.” But despite a storied career full of acclaim and influence, the Washingon Post decided to describe the 74-year-old living legend as “a pretty blonde in tight pants.”

Review: In her memoir, Debbie Harry proves she’s more than just a pretty blonde in tight pants https://t.co/JlZh82Icme

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 27, 2019

This tweet links to Sibbie O’Sullivan’s book review of Harry’s new memoir, Face It. And it’s not just a case of a social media director issuing a bad tweet, as you can see from the headline previewed above. If you click through (which we don’t recommend), the headline has been changed to “In her memoir, Debbie Harry gives an unvarnished look at her life in the punk scene.” But this tweet is still live! And the first paragraph of the review is just as dismissive of Harry’s accomplishments:

Even if Debbie Harry, of the band Blondie, isn’t to your taste — her voice too thin, her sexiness too blatant, her music too smooth — you can’t dismiss certain truths about her. She paid her dues; her ambition never waned; and she was there, there being New York in the late ’60s and ’70s — a city full of garbage, rent-controlled apartments, and men and women discovering new ways of making art and music. Harry’s story is an illuminating one, considering how much New York has changed and how stars are made and marketed today.

Many Twitter users didn’t get that far before telling WaPo exactly how they felt about O’Sullivan’s hot take on Harry.

Weird, I never saw similar headlines on men.

Bowie: more than just a blonde in tight pants.
Springsteen: more than just a brunette in tight jeans.

— Julie (@Buellie1208) September 28, 2019

SHE’S A PUNK ICON YOU MISOGYNIST WINDBAGS https://t.co/51rLFs1ngi

— Casey McIntyre (@caseyrmcintyre) September 28, 2019

Excuse me, I think your Twitter settings are wrong.

The date today is 2019, not 1962.

— Jay Thurber, Whistleblowin' Fool - WRCT/WMCK (@JayThurberShow) September 27, 2019

pic.twitter.com/Tybq8AzIei

— Pluiedautomne (@pluiedautomne) September 28, 2019

Maybe you needed convincing but pic.twitter.com/sWxcN7GRAu

— The Happy Feminist 🧙🏻‍♀️ (@HappyFeminist) September 28, 2019

OMG. I don’t even know the term for an insult that’s so thinly veiled as a backhanded compliment. I bloody LOVE this woman. She was an inspiration to me as a girl growing up in the 70s/80s. How dare they?

— Rachelwrites (@RachelClynick) September 28, 2019

…legitimately who has ever thought so little about Debbie fucking Harry?

— Alicia Lutes (@alicialutes) September 28, 2019

I know they’ve already changed the hed but that’s not going to stop me from asking how this happened in the first place. https://t.co/VL2B77oYdE https://t.co/Bkb8g54iEC

— Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis) September 29, 2019

And yes, WaPo got that special internet shaming of being dunked on by the dictionary.

Icon. A person or thing that is revered or idolized.

See also: Debbie Harry https://t.co/GQmwWUfOHY https://t.co/lUP2jDpaPa

— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) September 28, 2019