The Daily Mail Australia has fired a reporter and apologised to readers after publishing a story on Sunday that described Bachelor contestants as "vapid cunts".
Refreshing honesty from the Daily Mail this morning https://t.co/izxC2xpveE
A spokesperson for the company told BuzzFeed News that after an investigation the journalist responsible for the "offending words" had their employment terminated.
People quite enjoyed the stuff-up when it was first published over the weekend, before it was edited a few hours later.
"Most people who were educated at a high-school level know these vapid cunts only go on the shows to find mediocre Instagram fame and make a living promoting teeth whiteners and unnecessary cosmetic procedures," read the full paragraph.
When news of the journalist's sacking was first reported on Tuesday, the tone of the general public changed — with many upset that the Daily Mail had made such a drastic decision.
Journalist who accidentally wrote "vapid cunts" on the Daily Mail has been sacked. Dumb mistake, but clearly just absolutely that - a mistake, made in a high-pressure, high-turnout newsroom without much senior editorial support. Very harsh IMO https://t.co/9UdMei0Xa2
the daily mail sacked the journalist who did the "vapid cunts" line. what the hell. literally every single person working in online journalism has made a dumb mistake like this. between stupid high content demands and very few checks before publishing, it's basically inevitable.
"The reporter had filed no fewer than five stories on Sunday and four on Monday, which is a normal workload for a Daily Mail journalist." Is it any wonder she made a mistake?! https://t.co/Bm630zZX9u
Kate McInerney from journalists' union the MEAA said the journalist's error was just a product of excessive workloads and cuts to sub-editing.
“Errors like the one made by the Daily Mail Australia journalist are inevitable in an environment which places quantity of content above quality, and does not provide the extra layer of checking that comes from sub-editors,” she said.
“The errors that led to her sacking would have been picked up by sub-editor and never seen the light of day."
Florence Alexandra, one of the contestants on the current Bachelor in Paradise season, told News Corp she was consulting with lawyers following the "vapid cunt" descriptor.
“She [the reporter] is allowed to think that, of course, but the article was not even an opinion, she stated it as fact," said Alexandra.
“I didn’t even know what vapid meant, apparently I’m boring, dull and a cunt — I’m talking to my lawyers about taking action.”