Yesterday, The Root reported on Natasha Tynes, the DC Metro snitch who reported a black MWATA worker for (gasp!) eating on the train while in uniform. Once these Twitter streets were done with Natasha she found herself hit where it hurts the most: her pockets.
Rare Bird, a publishing house and PR/marketing firm that clearly doesn’t fuck around, announced via Twitter Friday evening they’re dropping Natasha from distribution faster than Natasha dropped a dime on a black woman having the gall to eat in front of her. Not only is Rare Bird severing all ties, they’re encouraging her publisher to do the same.
“Black women face a constant barrage of this kind of inappropriate behavior directed toward them and a constant policing of their bodies,” Rare Bird wrote. “We think this is unacceptable and have no desire to be involved with anyone who thinks it’s acceptable to jeopardize a person’s safety and employment in this way. We are currently taking appropriate actions to cancel Ms. Tynes’ novel They Called Me Wyatt, within our distribution network, and are strongly urging Tynes’ publisher, California Coldblood, to consider other appropriate actions.”
California Coldblood has yet to show us if they’ll live up to their name; as of Friday night Natasha’s fate within their publishing house was still unknown:
The Root has reached out to California Coldblood for comment and will update the story if more details emerge. According to Amazon, They Call Me Wyatt is set to be released June 11.
Natasha Tynes has since released the most basic, bland, apology possible with no explanation of her actions, thought process, or restorative justice for her invasion of this WMATA worker’s privacy.
With “allies” like these we don’t need enemies. We’re not buying it, Natasha. The apology nor your book.
Update: 5/11/19, 1:14 p.m. ET: Bob Peterson, founder, director and lead editor of California Coldblood Books, gave this statement to The Root:
We’re halting all shipments from the warehouse and postponing the book’s publication date while we further discuss appropriate next steps to officially cancel the book’s publication.