If you want the complete breakdown of the Erika Jayne/Tom Girardi case, Emily D. Baker, a former LA ADA and current legal consultant, does incredibly detailed, profanity-laden commentary on the various filings on her YouTube channel (under her name). I’m obsessed with her, she’s fantastic. She actually reminds me of you a bit, SDB.
My FAVORITE FAVORITE part of Berlinger's email to Sealey was the part where he suggested that Man of God might be given a pass because she's a woman: "Perhaps as a woman you will avoid some of the vitriol I received from some corners who seemed to have a pre-meditated agenda to criticize." That, right there, cemented my suspicion that Joe isn't just an asshole, he's a self-pitying privileged white guy. Who tried to bully a woman, and who was stunned when she didn't just shut up and take it. Who here isn't wondering how many other letters like that he's sent to women and other underrepresented critics and filmmakers, letters they kept quiet out of fears of his influence? I hope THEY ALL come out. And if he comes for me, well, I can. not. wait. — EB
So, I have a Joe Berlinger story of my own. I only just found out about this email exchange this morning, as I was getting ready to request an advance screener of "No Man of God" (I am a film critic). Let me copy and paste the comment I made on Amber Sealey's instagram post today: "I am very much looking forward to watching and reviewing your film (have requested a link). I have not seen Berlinger’s Bundy work, because in 2016, at SXSW, I watched his execrable Tony Robbins documentary and walked out of the screening angry, firing off one tweet about it and retweeting someone else’s (at the time, I was a fan of Berlinger’s films). With my tiny amount of followers, I didn’t think anymore about it, but about a month later found out that, without ever first contacting me, he had emailed the Dean of the Faculty at my university (I am an academic) to complain about such unprofessional conduct on my part and vowing to never come to the school (not that anyone was inviting him…) if I remained in my position. In other words, he “called the manager” on me. Now, I am not going to claim that those tweets were thoughtful (they were not), but his response was the behavior of a bully. Since then, I no longer watch his output. I see that nothing has changed. So sorry you have to deal with this. I am glad you have called him out." To note, I am a white male, with all the privilege that comes with that, which I acknowledge.
If you want the complete breakdown of the Erika Jayne/Tom Girardi case, Emily D. Baker, a former LA ADA and current legal consultant, does incredibly detailed, profanity-laden commentary on the various filings on her YouTube channel (under her name). I’m obsessed with her, she’s fantastic. She actually reminds me of you a bit, SDB.
I remember exactly where I first heard of the West Memphis Three - on a site called Tomato Nation
My FAVORITE FAVORITE part of Berlinger's email to Sealey was the part where he suggested that Man of God might be given a pass because she's a woman: "Perhaps as a woman you will avoid some of the vitriol I received from some corners who seemed to have a pre-meditated agenda to criticize." That, right there, cemented my suspicion that Joe isn't just an asshole, he's a self-pitying privileged white guy. Who tried to bully a woman, and who was stunned when she didn't just shut up and take it. Who here isn't wondering how many other letters like that he's sent to women and other underrepresented critics and filmmakers, letters they kept quiet out of fears of his influence? I hope THEY ALL come out. And if he comes for me, well, I can. not. wait. — EB
So, I have a Joe Berlinger story of my own. I only just found out about this email exchange this morning, as I was getting ready to request an advance screener of "No Man of God" (I am a film critic). Let me copy and paste the comment I made on Amber Sealey's instagram post today: "I am very much looking forward to watching and reviewing your film (have requested a link). I have not seen Berlinger’s Bundy work, because in 2016, at SXSW, I watched his execrable Tony Robbins documentary and walked out of the screening angry, firing off one tweet about it and retweeting someone else’s (at the time, I was a fan of Berlinger’s films). With my tiny amount of followers, I didn’t think anymore about it, but about a month later found out that, without ever first contacting me, he had emailed the Dean of the Faculty at my university (I am an academic) to complain about such unprofessional conduct on my part and vowing to never come to the school (not that anyone was inviting him…) if I remained in my position. In other words, he “called the manager” on me. Now, I am not going to claim that those tweets were thoughtful (they were not), but his response was the behavior of a bully. Since then, I no longer watch his output. I see that nothing has changed. So sorry you have to deal with this. I am glad you have called him out." To note, I am a white male, with all the privilege that comes with that, which I acknowledge.