WaPo Election Party Features Sexist Grab Her by the Napkin Stunt

November 16th, 2016 12:25 PM

Grab her by the napkin. That’s what The Washington Post encouraged at its election party where a female server’s body was used as a napkin dispenser.

To celebrate the potential election of the first woman president, guests were encouraged to pull napkins off of a napkin-clad woman at the daily newspaper’s casino-themed election party.  According to The Huffington Post, the woman wore a dress of napkins over another dress.

Elizabeth Chang, a Washington Post article editor, sent out an email to Publisher Fred Ryan and Vice President for Communications & Events Kris Coratti on behalf of 150 employees criticizing the offensive stunt. The email questioned not only the woman “being disrobed by guests,” but also the “inappropriate” theme of the party, given election night’s “seriousness” and considering Trump was a “casino-owning mogul who likes to grab women by the crotch.”

 Coratti offered the generic apology, “We regret that this occurred and sincerely apologize for any upset created by this situation.” Some of the blame was heaped on the sponsor, MGM, as Coratti noted that in the future, “more scrutiny will be placed on the packages offered by our sponsors.”

The Washington Post, champion for women’s rights, once called Trump a sexist pig and has posted articles such as “How Sexism Drives Support for Donald Trump” and “Trump’s History of Flippant Misogyny.” Considering sexual assault was a prominent theme of the election cycle, treating a woman like an object at its party was an interesting choice. 

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