Self-described “former staff” of Katie Hill used the ex-Democratic congresswoman’s official Twitter account on Tuesday night to post a lengthy condemnation of the “workplace abuse and harassment” that led to her downfall last year.
The tweetstorm: The 10-tweet thread came in response to an announcement earlier in the day that Hill’s memoir-cum-feminist manifesto, “She Will Rise,” is being adapted into a streaming movie of the same name.
- “Disappointed in so many folks – including Elizabeth Moss, @Blumhouse, & @michaelseitzman – regarding today’s announcement,” the Twitter thread started, referring to the leading actress and producers signed on to the project.
- Elizabeth Moss, the star of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” will play Hill and co-produce the movie; Hill is an executive producer.
The “former staff” went on to condemn Hill’s alleged abuse by her estranged husband — whom she has blamed for leaking intimate photos of her — but argued “Katie Hill’s story – our story – is also one of workplace abuse and harassment.”
- “Katie Hill can be both a victim and perpetrator. And, staff can experience severe consequences for speaking out against their powerful boss,” the thread said. “No one should have to put themselves in harm’s way for the public to understand a simple truth: Katie Hill is not a hero for women.”
- “Katie took advantage of her subordinates. She caused immense harm to the people who worked for her, many of whom were young women just beginning their careers in politics,” the tweets continued, directly challenging Hill’s narrative. “Workplace abuse and harassment can take many different forms, but one thing is certain: it is never okay, even if your boss is a woman and/or a survivor.”
- “Enough is enough,” the “former staff” concluded, invoking anti-sexual abuse campaigns. “In order to advance the #MeToo movement, we must be willing to acknowledge the problematic behaviors among those in our own communities. Only then will we see true progress. #TimesUp #MeToo.”
Hill on her private Twitter account on Wednesday said her “government official twitter account was hacked.”
- She also claimed to have already addressed the content of the critical tweet storm and to have done “constant work and reflection.”
Girl power: The RedState blog first reported last October that Hill, then 32, the first openly bisexual member of Congress, had sexual relationships with a female campaign staffer in her 20s and Graham Kelly, her legislative director.
- Hill admitted to having an “inappropriate relationship” with the campaign staffer but denied the relationship with Kelly.
- She blamed her “abusive husband” whom she was in the midst of divorcing for “trying to humiliate me.”
- Hill resigned in November before the House Ethics Committee could complete an investigation of her, saying in an Oct. 31 farewell speech: “I’m leaving because of a misogynistic culture that gleefully consumed my naked pictures, capitalized on my sexuality and enabled my abusive ex to continue that abuse, this time with the entire country watching.”
Since leaving Congress, Hill has continued to cast herself as a victim of, and warrior against, systemic sexism.
- Some in the elite press, from The New York Times to Vice News to Glamour, have promoted her preferred self-image.
- Moss recently said of Hill: “Her strength and work to amplify women’s voices is incredibly inspiring to me and her experiences could not be more important for us to magnify right now.”
