This article was published on May 15, 2017

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai reading Mean Tweets is just as cringeworthy as it sounds


FCC Chairman Ajit Pai reading Mean Tweets is just as cringeworthy as it sounds Image by: IJR/YouTube

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is attempting to win over the YouTube audience with a Mean Tweets video.

The FCC has been enjoying a lot of attention in the past week, after John Oliver called attention to the net neutrality debate. Amidst the ensuing kerfuffle, Pai shot a video for the Independent Journal Review in which he read tweets aimed at him and gave (or attempted to give) humorous commentary. The FCC tweeted it out today:

Credit where it’s due: Pai did get a little chuckle out of me when he said, of the person calling for him to be punched in the face daily: “I think my wife might have a fake account on Twitter.”

That said, some of his comments are a little … let’s be generous and call them “silly.”

For example, Pai says that “bae” is an acronym. I have seen “bae” used to as an acronym for “before anyone else,” but not since it became shorthand for “baby” about 1000 years ago.

He also proved that, contrary to what John Oliver might contend, The Big Lebowski isn’t the only 90s stoner comedy he’s familiar with. He quotes Matthew McConaughey’s character in Dazed and Confused when he contends that women will “stay the same age” when he’s released from prison for treason (it doesn’t make much sense in the video either). Something tells me he might not have fully absorbed the context of that line, because the character is talking about high school girls.

Maybe respond to some people who have genuine criticisms next time, Pai? I’m quite sure they are just as easy to find on Twitter as these mean tweets were.

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