Washington Post reporter FIRED after trying to cancel colleague over ‘sexist’ joke in public Twitter feud

Somnez, who put colleague David Weigel on blast after he retweeted a joke that was perceived to be at the expense of women, received a termination letter following the highly public feud Thursday morning that was obtained by The New York Times.

The termination letter stated that Somnez was let go from the paper over "misconduct that includes insubordination, maligning your co-workers online and violating The Post's standards on workplace collegiality and inclusivity."

"We cannot allow you to continue to work as a journalist representing The Washington Post," the letter said.

The Washington Post Guild released a statement Thursday which stated that they will not publicly comment on "individual personnel issues."

"The Washington Post Guild's mission is to ensure equal treatment and protection for all employees and uplift members as they fight to create a just and inclusive workplace in which workers can thrive," the guild's leadership said. "Unit leadership is committed to ensuring that our contract is respected and workers are only disciplined with just cause. We represent and provide support to all members facing discipline. We do not comment on individual personnel issues."

David Weigel was suspended without pay for a month by The Washington Post on Monday after retweeting a joke last week that said, "Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it's polar or sexual."

Felicia Sonmez responded to Weigel's retweet and said, "Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!"

David Weigel removed the retweet and apologized that same afternoon. In further remarks, Sonmez said what she did was "absolutely necessary" and framed it as calling out sexism.

She made that justification to one of her other colleagues, Jose A. Del Real, who questioned the exercise. Sonmez’s sights then turned to him as the next target. Jose responded by blocking her on social media.

"I need you to know that I’m just an idiot on the internet having fun and I am enjoying every second of this," responded Harless on Monday.

Messages from the Washington Post's Slack channel that were leaked to CNN showed that Sonmez internally confronted Weigel and demanded to know if his retweet was a reflection of the outlet's company values.

The outlet's Chief Communications Officer issued a statement within hours of Sonmez's initial post, saying "Editors have made clear to the staff that the tweet was reprehensible and demeaning language or actions like that will not be tolerated."

This was in addition to a similar, private response by Washington Post's Matea Gold.

Sonmez previously got entangled in attempting to "#MeToo" the LA Times Beijing Bureau Chief, Jonathan Kaiman. Her social media commentary and conduct involving the matter in itself brought her professional scrutiny.