Meet Bari Weiss, the controversial political journalist who resigned from The New York Times – accusing staff of ‘constant bullying’ – and co-founded The Free Press with her wife, Nellie Bowles
- Weiss is known for criticising excessive ‘wokeism’ on the progressive left and for her resignation letter lambasting The NYT; the Jewish-American has supported Israel amid the Israel-Gaza war, too
- She’s married to fellow journalist Nellie Bowles, who just released her bestselling book Morning After the Revolution; she also supported her wife after the fallout around Tom Cotton’s op-ed
Bari Weiss gained prominence after dramatically resigning from The New York Times in July 2020, posting a scathing, 1,500-word resignation letter online, alleging a “hostile work environment” where she was subject to “constant bullying”. She went on to start her own media company, The Free Press, which she billed as a more objective answer to what she has described as the excessive “wokeism” in today’s mainstream media.
So just who is Bari Weiss and why is she so controversial? Here’s what you need to know.
Why did Bari Weiss resign from The New York Times?
However, she dramatically resigned in July 2020. In her resignation letter, which she posted publicly to her website, she cited “bullying by colleagues” and an “illiberal … hostile work environment”, criticising both The Times’ leadership and fellow staff. She accused her colleagues of insulting her and calling for her removal from the publication, both internally via Slack and online on X (formerly Twitter). The letter quickly made headlines.
Weiss was no stranger to controversy while at The New York Times, sparking backlash for criticising a woman who described an uncomfortable date she went on with Aziz Ansari, and appearing to inaccurately call Asian-American figure skater Mirai Nagasu an immigrant, among other things.
The Tom Cotton saga
