A heated Twitter feud between Debra Messing of Will & Grace and Susan Sarandon of Thelma and Louise brought attention to the subject of women’s participation in politics.
It all started when Sarandon was quoted in a Variety interview, stating that Donald Trump’s election has “inspired more women and people of color to run for office.”
This did not sit well with Debra Messing, who decided Twitter was the best platform to retaliate against Sarandon’s statement.
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Messing’s tweet read as follows: “STFU SUSAN. Oh yes, PLEASE let’s give Trump CREDIT. I mean how else are you able to walk out on the street. Convince yourself that that this CATASTROPHE of a President who you said was better that HRC IS NOT ripping children away from parents seeking asylum, holding children.”
Ouch. This initial tweet led to a back and forth argument between the two actresses, with plenty of fans taking sides. Definitely not your average Twitter war.
The most interesting part about this Twitter feud, outside of the obvious drama, is that both women bring up good points about the Trump administration. Additionally, this is not the first time the actresses engaged in a feud over the social media website. In March 2016, the two argued over which candidate was the better choice for the election later that year.
Since Trump’s election, women have been more active in politics and definitely more interested in holding a political office. According to Emily’s List, more than 40,000 women have expressed interest in running for political office since the 2016 election. This is a massive number compared to the 1,000 women who expressed interest following the 2012 election.
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The anger and passion in Messing’s tweets are not entirely negative. In fact, this passion is necessary to spur people into wanting to actively make a change. So, while Messing made plenty of assumptions about Sarandon during her tweeting spree, she did bring an interesting view to the table: outrage might be a key component for change.
One thing the actresses share is that they both use their platforms as public figures to spread messages and stand up for their beliefs. Yes, their Twitter feud was fiery – and at times entertaining – but both women sought to get a message across to their followers and offer their opinion of the current state of political affairs.
Normally, Twitter feuds are silly and aren’t intended to inform a broader audience of a particular issue, but this feud resulted in a great takeaway for users. Perhaps feuds like Messing’s and Sarandon’s should happen more often, considering it led to Twitter users thinking about political change in a new way.
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