The Gray Area with Sean Illing

The value of being a "hater"

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Guest host Rebecca Jennings talks with Justin Charity, cultural critic and senior staff writer at The Ringer, about what it means to be dubbed a "hater" on the internet. Rebecca and Justin talk about the role of criticism and the evolving ways in which critics and fans clash online. They discuss how a bad review (or a review seen as bad) can spark a far-ranging backlash, how the meme-ified cry of "let people enjoy things" has been taken from its original context, and what — if anything — might change the dynamics between fans and critics.

Host: Rebecca Jennings (@rebexxxxa), senior correspondent, Vox

Guest: Justin Charity, senior staff writer, The Ringer; co-host of the Sound Only podcast

References: 

  • "'Hater' doesn't have to be a dirty word" by Rebecca Jennings (Vox; Jan. 18)
  • "2022 Was the Year of the Metaverse — Until It Wasn't" by Justin Charity (The Ringer; Dec. 29, 2022)
  • "Why Did Everyone Claim to Enjoy Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly'?" by Justin Charity (Complex; Nov. 3, 2015)
  • "Jake Paul Exposed as $2.2M Serial Crypto Scammer" by Robert D. Knight & Levy Prata (Beincrypto; Mar. 8, 2022)
  • "Taylor Swift Super Fans Are Furious About a Good Review" by Gita Jackson (Vice; July 31, 2020)
  • "The YouTubers are not okay" by Rebecca Jennings (Vox; May 10, 2022)
  • "How 'let people enjoy things' became a fight against criticism" by Constance Grady (Vox; May 16, 2019)
  • The original "let people enjoy things" webcomic, by Adam Ellis (Feb. 3, 2016)
  • "Like This or Die" by Christian Lorenzen (Harpers; Apr. 2019)
  • @talialichtstein on TikTok
  • "Meet the most obsessive Bill Simmons fans online" by Luke Winkie (The Outline; Jan. 2, 2020)


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    This episode was made by: 

    • Producer: Erikk Geannikis
    • Engineer: Patrick Boyd
    • Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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