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‘The Morning Breath’ Canceled After “Girl With No Job” Faces Backlash for Anti-Muslim Tweets
You never have to worry about catching a whiff of The Morning Breath ever again. Just one day after The Daily Beast published an exposé about Instagram-famous sisters Claudia and Jackie Oshry and their anti-Muslim activist mother, Pamela Geller, the girls’ social media morning show has been canceled.
In a Thursday, March 1, statement to Life & Style, a spokesperson for Oath — the company that produced the online series — confirmed that The Morning Breath has officially been canned: “The Morning Breath, an Oath social media show, is being canceled immediately and we have launched an internal investigation and will take other appropriate steps based on the results of the investigation.”
According to The Daily Beast, it is still being determined whether Claudia, 23, and Jackie, 25, will remain employed by Oath, the company formed in AOL and Yahoo!’s 2017 merger. On Wednesday, Feb. 28, the outlet published a story detailing the great lengths Claudia and Jackie — who run the viral Instagram accounts, @girlwithnojob and @jackieoproblems, respectively — took to distance themselves from their infamous 59-year-old mother, Pamela.
Pamela Geller in 2017.
You might recognize Pamela from her controversial appearances on political TV programs, often spewing hate toward Muslims. The outspoken commentator — who was banned from entering the UK in 2013 due to her despicable, xenophobic, extremist views — regularly criticizes Islamic culture on social media. She is also the president of the Stop Islamization of America organization.
In a seeming effort to protect their brand — and, most likely, in an attempt not to offend viewers of The Morning Breath, and the countless reality stars who have appeared as guests on the show — Claudia and Jackie kept their own social media pages clear of any photos with Pamela. Hours after The Daily Beast’s article ignited backlash, the duo provided a statement to BuzzFeed News, claiming they do not hold the same beliefs as their mom — who has been previously branded “the most dangerous woman in America,” a “far-right hate queen,” and “the anti-Muslim movement’s most visible and flamboyant figurehead.”
Jackie and Claudia in 2017.
“We want to be clear to our audience and fans that our political and cultural beliefs are not anti-Muslim or anti-anyone,” the statement read. “Our views are separate from our mother’s. Being raised by a single parent, we were taught to make our own choices based on our personal beliefs. We are inspired to think for ourselves and we do. We do not condone discrimination or racist beliefs of any kind.”
It wasn’t long before social media users tracked down old tweets from Claudia and Jackie, in which it seems abundantly clear that they do indeed discriminate against Muslims, just like Pamela. “I can’t help but feel like I’m funding terrorism when I take a cab,” Claudia — who lives in NYC with her husband, Ben Soffer, aka @boywithnojob — wrote in 2014.
In 2012, she took several jabs at former POTUS Barack Obama, perpetuating unfounded rumors that he is Muslim. “controversial tweet #2: #OBAMA IS #MUSLIM!!!! YA I SAID IT,” she wrote that May, later writing, “Today my co-counselor told me she thinks Obama is muslim #soulmate.” That year, she also made fun of Muslim cab drivers: “The reason you are still standing on the street corner looking for a cab is because it’s a Muslim ‘holiday.'”
Jackie also wrote about her disdain for Muslims in 2012, while tweeting a link to a news article about Obama’s potential trip to Israel if he were re-elected for a second term. “No thanks! There are already enough unwanted Muslims there already,” she wrote.
Claudia took to Instagram on Wednesday night to offer a teary-eyed apology in a very brief video clip. “Some news was broke this morning about who my mom is and then some really disgusting, vile, stupid tweets of mine resurfaced. I need to just come right out and say how sorry I am. It’s not cool, it’s not funny. I was a dumb kid. I was 16 [and] I thought I was being funny and cool on Twitter and it’s not,” Claudia — who was actually 20 and 18 years old, according to the time stamps on the aforementioned tweets — said. “I’m not racist. I can’t believe I even have to say that.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfxJP7JBOR2/
On Thursday morning, Jackie apologized on her Instagram page, which is currently followed by more than 93,000 people. “I want to express my utmost, sincere apologies for the indefensible comments I’ve said in the past. That is not a reflection of who I am as a person today and I am truly sorry to everyone I’ve offended and let down,” she wrote. “All I can do now is reflect and learn from this experience by showing everyone the good that is in my heart.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfyea9BAzlw/
According to stats from Social Blade, Claudia’s @girlwithnojob Instagram account — which boasts more than 2 million followers — has already lost tens of thousands of followers, many of whom have expressed outrage in the comments section on several of her posts. “Wow can’t believe I used to watch The Morning Breath every single f–king day. Glad this came out sooner than later so I don’t have to waste anymore time on these trashbags,” wrote one ex-fan, while another commented, “Girl with no job? More like girl who hates hijabs. All I’M saying is GIRL. BYE!”
