Some social media users are charging that a Guardian columnist made an anti-Semitic attack on the right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer. The Guardian writer in question is Jessica Valenti, a New York-based columnist known for writing about feminist issues.
A few days ago, Loomer was permanently banned from Twitter after a “hateful” tweet she put out about Ilhan Omar. Loomer is no stranger to controversy and has had plenty of run-ins with Twitter before; you can read more about her history with the site here.
Soon afterwards, Jessica Valenti took to Twitter to make fun of Laura Loomer. Not for her views, and not for what the provocative blogger has said about others. No — Valenti made fun of Loomer for her looks:
Valenti wrote, “I’m sorry, Laura Loomer is TWENTY FIVE years old? This is like when I found out how old Stephen Miller was. There’s not enough retinol in the world to save your face from being a racist a**h***.”
Valenti’s followers jumped into the conversation, with many people agreeing that Loomer looked old. Valenti added, “I thought she had a good ten years on me.” She added, “I checked like three times because I didn’t believe it lol.”
Some Conservatives Are Asking Why It’s OK to Bash a Woman for her Looks
Valenti has a reputation as a feminist who often writes critically about the objectification of women. In this piece, for example, Valenti ridicules men who tell women to “smile.” Even her Twitter profile defends her right to have a “b**** face.” (“My b**** face never rests,” Valenti’s profile reads.) So many people are wondering why Valenti felt that it was okay to make fun of another woman for her looks.
Some of the attacks on Valenti are hard to follow. It’s not clear how, exactly, her criticism of Loomer is “anti-Semitic” as some people have asserted.
Laura Loomer Has Complained About Body Shaming Before
Back when Loomer was still on Twitter, she got into an online spat with Michael Avenatti, the Stormy Daniels lawyer. Loomer had followed Avenatti to an event where he was speaking and then confronted him about Julie Swetnick, the Kavanaugh accuser being represented by Avenatti. Afterwards, she said that Avenatti’s tweet at her was an effort to “body shame” her. Loomer wrote defensively that, while she might not be the “skinniest” girl around, she was still quick enough on her feet to outrun Avenatti. You can read more about that here.