Lexi Alexander claims responsibility for "Shitty Media Men" list in solidarity with real creator
[Editor’s note: Since the publication of this Newswire, Moira Donegan, the real creator of the “Shitty Media Men” spreadsheet, has come forward with an essay in The Cut describing her experiences. Alexander’s original claim, which was meant as a Spartacus-style show of solidarity, was misinterpreted as a factual statement by Deadline, and subsequently by The A.V. Club. We deeply regret this error, and have left the article up for context.]
At some point back in October, an anonymous person created a crowdsourced Google doc identifying “Shitty Media Men” that women could use to privately share details of men in the media engaging in predatory behavior. It had names, allegations ranging from inappropriate messages to rape, and notes regarding whether or not something was simply a rumor, all in hopes of keeping women in the industry informed without necessarily having to go public with accusations. The list eventually leaked out, negating any use it may have had, and this week a rumor began to spread that Harper’s magazine was preparing to publish a piece in its March issue that would name the woman who created the list.
A New York Times story said that Harper’s had claimed it had no intention of publishing the creator’s name, but a detail in the story (as noted by Splinter) implied that the magazine at least knew the person’s identity and may have considered including it at some point. Now, though, that all seems to be irrelevant, as the creator has apparently outed herself. As reported by Deadline, Punisher: War Zone director Lexi Alexander claimed on Twitter today that she created the list, though she seems to have deleted her whole Twitter profile before offering more information—presumably to protect herself from the backlash and threats she assumed would be coming.
As Deadline points out, Alexander has primarily been directing for TV over the last few years, including working on Arrow and Supergirl. Both of those shows were executive produced by Andrew Kreisberg, who was fired in November over sexual harassment claims.
Update: A new piece published on The Cut tonight has brought questions about Alexander’s claim of authorship of the list to light. Titled “I Started The Media Men List, My Name Is Moira Donegan,” the essay does exactly what its title purports, outlining former New Republic editor Donegan’s creation of, and rationale for, the famous spreadsheet.
Since the publication of Donegan’s essay, Alexander has clarified that she was merely attempting to draw attention towards herself to protect the real creator of the list, a la the Stanley Kubrick classic Spartacus.