Are conservatives now engaging in cancel culture? We’re debating that in our newsroom and in our pages today. For other views, please check out Eliana Johnson (Fire Them All); Matthew Continetti (Progressive Cries of ‘Cancel Culture’ Are Overblown); and Adam Rubenstein (In Defense of Karen Attiah). And weigh in with your views in the comments.
In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder, an alarming number of Americans made light of his assassination, or tried to justify it. An angry right wing has emerged to ensure that such people pay, kicking off a wave of firings and suspensions that have affected journalists, Secret Service agents, and university employees.
One of those people is named Matthew Readling. He is the manager of a Texas Roadhouse in Milton, Florida, a small city in the state’s deep-red Panhandle. But unlike most of the others who have lost their jobs in the wake of Kirk’s assassination, Readling doesn’t appear to have said anything about Charlie Kirk at all.
Over the weekend, right-wing influencers, most notably Scarlett Johnson, a podcaster and social media manager for the conservative group Moms for Liberty, began to circulate Facebook posts written by Mr. Readling’s wife that referred to Charlie Kirk as a “Nazi.”
“The wife of the manager of Texas Roadhouse in Milton, FL wrote the posts below. The servers are upset & feel intimidated,” Johnson posted on X Saturday. Just one day later, Mr. Readling’s father said on Facebook that his son had been fired. He also described Mrs. Readling as his “soon to be ex–daughter-in-law” and someone who “needs serious mental health support.” He also claimed that Matthew was “unable to put a retraction [sic] on Facebook because his company told him not to.”
