On Saturday, December 12, a New York Post story about a New York city medic who took a second job on OnlyFans because her healthcare position wasn't paying her enough to live on went viral on Twitter.
NYC medic helped 'make ends meet' with racy OnlyFans side gig https://t.co/2GV2cvfchP https://t.co/Nq1Bo6q9MLβ New York Post (@New York Post) 1607794144.0
Many online quickly pushed back against the Post's framing, which seemed to shame the medic for her second job.
Alternative headline: NYC medic is not being paid a sustainable income despite her important role particularly duriβ¦ https://t.co/9Y6ZWL9yIpβ jasmine rice π (@jasmine rice π) 1607889277.0
Before long, even Democratic New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had replied to the story, saying it was yet another example of America's unacceptable economic disparity.
@nypost Leave her alone. The actual scandalous headline here is βMedics in the United States need two jobs to surviveββ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1607919298.0
@jasminericegirl Why are we still shaming individuals and not our system that abandons people and leaves them strugβ¦ https://t.co/sk4zw6fRjPβ Laura Miers (@Laura Miers) 1607915621.0
Twitter lined up behind AOC to support the medic who reportedly lost her job as a medic due to her OnlyFans work.
@AOC @nypost Confirm. The EMTs in your ambulance, who crawl into your crushed vehicles, who do CPR on your family mβ¦ https://t.co/u6nP74ciznβ Strider (@Strider) 1607920384.0
@AOC @amerelman @nypost Been a medic almost 20 years. At one point, to make enough to support my family, I was workβ¦ https://t.co/rLY0wjIIb1β Sahaj S. Khalsa (@Sahaj S. Khalsa) 1607920164.0
this wonderful person is at risk of losing her job bc of this misogynistic article that she didn't consent to, hereβ¦ https://t.co/MUU2vpYayGβ jasmine rice π (@jasmine rice π) 1607892767.0
The New York Post also faced a swift online backlash for pushing out the article with a title many found misleading.
but really @nypost what about "I don't want my identification shared bc I'm worried about losing my job" didn't makβ¦ https://t.co/zU7RbBYgQTβ jasmine rice π (@jasmine rice π) 1607896527.0
if anything it seems pretty unethical not to be paying someone enough at their job and then to penalize them for eaβ¦ https://t.co/cBvflimpBLβ jasmine rice π (@jasmine rice π) 1607896686.0
@jasminericegirl Most sex workers are female and most of their clients are men. Why does our society shame the SWsβ¦ https://t.co/HCrcge4wH5β We Need A Truth and Reconciliation Commission (@We Need A Truth and Reconciliation Commission) 1607914266.0
If anyone deserves to make a living wage doing their work during the pandemic, its our healthcare workers on the front lines.
@jasminericegirl @csydelko I've never understood why paramedics and EMTs don't make the same hourly rate as nurses.β¦ https://t.co/zRZqE7OBa3β Nurse Ali G π π π©ββοΈ (@Nurse Ali G π π π©ββοΈ) 1607914155.0
@nypost Crazy idea, but hear me out: what if instead of shaming someone for how they make money, we talk about theβ¦ https://t.co/AeHzMiNCLPβ sav kwei π (@sav kwei π) 1607816625.0
@nypost Disgusting pigs stalk a young girls private life and publishing it causing her to lose her job/insurance anβ¦ https://t.co/RDutZAYWyZβ Lu (@Lu) 1607828005.0
If anything needs reforming, its the system that forces healthcare workers to take second jobs just to stay afloat.
@nypost Let me get this straight: this woman is risking her life during COVID to save the lives of others during thβ¦ https://t.co/2aHJYL6WXmβ Charlotte Clymer π³οΈβπ (@Charlotte Clymer π³οΈβπ) 1607908509.0
@nypost βOther EMTs and paramedics make more money by pulling extra shifts, instead of pulling off their clothes.βhβ¦ https://t.co/DI9A6K8KGXβ MADcripple (@MADcripple) 1607821452.0
All Americans, especially our essential workers, deserve a living wage for a hard day's work.