Vanity Fair apologizes for Hillary Clinton video; Trump tweets attack
Vanity Fair has apologized for its controversial humor video offering Hillary Clinton advice. The video suggested New Year's resolutions for Clinton such as taking up knitting or other hobbies, but it prompted backlash from many viewers who saw it as sexist. And in a backlash to the backlash, President Trump sent a tweet Thursday morning blasting the magazine for its apology.
In a statement on Wednesday, Vanity Fair said of the video, "It was an attempt at humor and we regret that it missed the mark."
The video was from Vanity Fair's business and politics page, Hive, and showed editors holding champagne toasts as they made suggestions for what Clinton should do in 2018.
One editor said Clinton could write a sequel to her book, "What Happened," titled, "What the Hell Happened." Most notably, one female editor said, "Take up a new hobby in the new year. Volunteer work, knitting, improv comedy ... literally anything that will keep you from running again."
Another jab included telling Clinton to let go of her resentments toward James Comey.
Maybe it's time for Hillary Clinton to take up a new hobby in 2018 pic.twitter.com/sbE78rA5At
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) December 23, 2017
Many viewers decried the video as sexist, passé or not funny.
Patricia Arquette posted a furious response: "Hey STOP TELLING WOMEN WHAT THE [expletive] THEY SHOULD DO OR CAN DO. Get over your mommy issues."
Others saw a clear double standard.
Hey, @VanityFair, how we feeling this morning? Tired? Sexist? Hopefully, the criticism you received for that awful video on Hillary made you wake up wanting to do better. Quick tip: don't tell one of the most accomplished women in the world to take up knitting.
— Shauna DeBono (@ShaunaRDeBono) December 27, 2017
Show me where you put Joe Biden through the same treatment.
— Selena Adera 🍩 (@Selena_Adera) December 26, 2017
You know, the guy who attempted THREE presidential runs so far and never made it past the primaries. The 75 year old whose track record pre-Obama includes reprehensible treatment of Anita Hill.#DoubleStandard
I ended 2015 defending Hillary Clinton from sexist attacks.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) December 27, 2017
I ended 2016 defending Hillary Clinton from sexist attacks.
I'm ending 2017 defending @HillaryClinton from sexist attacks.
So much for my Twitter break...
President Trump weighed in on the drama, tweeting Thursday: "Vanity Fair, which looks like it is on its last legs, is bending over backwards in apologizing for the minor hit they took at Crooked H."
Vanity Fair, which looks like it is on its last legs, is bending over backwards in apologizing for the minor hit they took at Crooked H. Anna Wintour, who was all set to be Amb to Court of St James’s & a big fundraiser for CH, is beside herself in grief & begging for forgiveness!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2017
He also took a dig at fashion magazine titan Anna Wintour, a prominent Clinton campaign supporter, suggesting that she was "all set" to be the Ambassador to the Court of St. James, the formal title for U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, and that she was "beside herself in grief & begging for forgiveness!"
Wintour is the editor-in-chief of Vogue, not Vanity Fair. She also serves as artistic director for Condé Nast, the publisher of both Vogue and Vanity Fair.