So about that Ashleigh Banfield open letter...
It turns out that Katie Way, the author the Babe article, didn't take kindly to Banfield's criticism of her source. So when HLN reached out to her for an interview, Way responded with a venomous email that was
obtained and posted by Mediaite:
It’s an unequivocal no from me. The way your colleague Ashleigh (?), someone I’m certain no one under the age of 45 has ever heard of, by the way, ripped into my source directly was one of the lowest, most despicable things I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Shame on her. Shame on HLN. Ashleigh could have “talked” to me. She could have “talked” to my editor or my publication. But instead, she targeted a 23-year-old woman in one of the most vulnerable moments of her life, someone she’s never f—— met before, for a little attention. I hope the ratings were worth it! I hope the ~500 RTs on the single news write-up made that burgundy lipstick bad highlights second-wave feminist has-been feel really relevant for a little while. She DISGUSTS me, and I hope when she has more distance from the moment she has enough of a conscience left to feel remotely ashamed — doubt it, but still. Must be nice to piggyback off of the fact that another woman was brave enough to speak up and add another dimension to the societal conversation about sexual assault. Grace wouldn’t know how that feels, because she struck out into this alone, because she’s the bravest person I’ve ever met. I would NEVER go on your network. I would never even watch your network. No woman my age would ever watch your network. I will remember this for the rest of my career — I’m 22 and so far, not too shabby! And I will laugh the day you fold. If you could let Ashleigh know I said this, and that she is no-holds-barred the reason, it’d be a real treat for me.
Thanks,
Katie
Obviously, this has no bearing on whether Grace's story is true. But it does give me the impression that Way was way too concerned with painting Grace as a hero/victim when writing her piece. I also found it funny that she bashed Banfield for supposedly only criticizing Grace to get attention. In that same scathing rebuke Way wrote: "I'm 22 so far, not too shabby!" That sentence suggests to me that she is reveling in the attention her piece got and sees herself as kind of a big deal because she wrote this article. Was her intention not to get attention?
Moreover, Way expressed disgust that Banfield "targeted" an anonymous person "in one of the most vulnerable moments of her life." But no one knows who Grace is. She might not like certain responses to her account (I presume), but she's more or less insulated from the consequences of this article as long as her identity is hidden. Ansari was publicly targeted right after he won a high-profile award. And given the current climate, plus Ansari's reputation as a feminist, plus the show he won the award for, he's now arguably in an incredibly vulnerable position career-wise.