The New York Post is facing a backlash over an article ‘revealing’ that a New York City paramedic has also been making money on the side through a ‘racy’ OnlyFans account.
In the article headlined “NYC medic helped ‘make ends meet’ with racy OnlyFans side gig,” the Post exposed the medic’s identity by using her photo as the featured image and naming her despite her requests to remain anonymous.
OnlyFans, a popular subscription service, allows people to make money often by posting explicit photographs and videos of themselves for paid subscribers.
The newspaper also detailed the exact type of content that the medic, Lauren Caitlyn Kwei, was posting on her OnlyFans account, before pointing out that her employer, SeniorCare, prohibits “inappropriate conduct, on and off duty.”
Astonishingly, the New York Post even reached out to her employer for comment on the story, putting the woman at risk of losing her job amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a public statement, Kwei wrote that she “begged” the reporter behind the story “to remain anonymous,” and “told him my safety and job were going to be at risk if he posted this article.”
“He truly did not care. He went on to call my employer and my mother,” she revealed, adding that she would soon find out whether she still has a job.
A GoFundMe fundraiser launched for Kwei – after her father recently suffered a cardiac arrest — has raised over $18,000.
As to why she chose to open an OnlyFans account instead of picking up extra shifts as a medic, Kwei explained in her statement that she “didn’t pick up extra shifts because I cannot work 40+ hour weeks and maintain my mental health.”
Kwei also says that she did “nothing wrong” and “will not take this lying down,” declaring, “I will continue to fight for my name and reputation. I will speak out against this and tell my story in time and when I am ready.”
The New York Post received immense backlash for the article, with even New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responding, “Leave her alone. The actual scandalous headline here is ‘Medics in the United States need two jobs to survive.’”
Leave her alone. The actual scandalous headline here is “Medics in the United States need two jobs to survive”
Why is this an article?! She took down references to her extra gig so she wouldn’t lose her job at Senior Care, and not only do you write a piece drawing attention to it, you close the article that you reached out to Senior Care for a comment? This isn’t journalism, this is trash
Ocasio-Cortez’s comment was echoed by the Intercept’s Ryan Grim, who wrote, “Barbaric country. Jobs like this should pay enough that you don’t need a second one.”
Scandalous that a paramedic needs a second job. Barbaric country. Jobs like this should pay enough that you don’t need a second one. (Also what if wrong with the creeps at this paper?) https://t.co/xHcZKRZUG4
Others called the piece “the opposite of holding power to account,” and the “worst kind” of cancel culture “since it targets a person whose life is completely irrelevant to the public.”
the opposite of holding power to account and an example of a story that simultaneously manages to be terrible and completely pointless https://t.co/6q4iZEllJWhttps://t.co/2mZqJmTlZfpic.twitter.com/1QbKLxpDeL
Not to troll, but this definitely counts as cancel culture, and it’s the worst kind, since it targets a person whose life is completely irrelevant to the public. https://t.co/suD4Kt4FLY
Good morning, I’m still waiting on someone to tell me the purpose of writing this article! @dean_balsamini@SusanBEdelman, any comment? Why did you want a paramedic to lose her job during a pandemic? Let’s talk
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