OK, I’ve been sitting here tweeting all morning with some people who were on the LIVE show last night (Wednesday’s @ 6:30PM is the flagship show time now btw) instead of writing. I’ve finally wisened up now, though, so here I am. Let’s start off the morning with a bit of cheerful news, shall we? I saw this news cross the wire a couple hours ago, and so here’s my slow ass bringing it to you now:

Three members of a University of Virginia fraternity profiled in a debunked Rolling Stone article about gang rape are suing the magazine.

A lawyer for George Elias IV, Ross Fowler and Stephen Hadford said the men had suffered “vicious and hurtful” attacks because of the false piece…

The lawsuit states that the three men, who had been members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity before graduating in 2013, were identified by people who knew them because of details provided in the now-debunked piece…

The lawsuit states that, “upon release of the article, family friends, acquaintances, co-workers and reporters easily matched (George Elias IV) as one of the alleged attackers and, among other things, interrogated him, humiliated him, and scolded him”.

The men are suing on three counts, including defamation and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and all are seeking at least $75,000 (£48,000) for each count.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs said the false claims made in the story “had a devastating effect” on their reputations.

(full BBC article)

I know a lot of you have been waiting on these guys to officially file suit, especially after news of the dean’s lawsuit came out. I figured they were just getting their ducks in a row. You don’t want to rush things when you’re coming to take the whole house down, like they undoubtedly are. If the Rolling Stone people like Jann Wenner were smart, they would try to offer a fat-ass settlement early and stave off trial. At least, that’s what I would try to do. Here’s some more from the suit:

“As young men who have dedicated their lives to obtaining the merits to attend UVA, maintaining good grades and obtaining undergraduate degrees, while also becoming involved in UVA activities, pledging a fraternity and finding lifelong brothers and friends, Plaintiffs have been embarrassed to admit that they are members of Phi Kappa Psi as a result of the article and its accusations,” according to the filing entered in U.S. District Court in New York.

(full lawsuit)

That’s not all. Fresh on the heels of all this, their editor, Will Dana, has been fired as well. The New York Times doesn’t call it that, preferring to use the term “depart.” But that’s what it is:

Will Dana, the managing editor of Rolling Stone, will leave the magazine, just months after a controversial article about a supposed gang rape at the University of Virginia was retracted.

Mr. Dana, whose planned last day is Aug. 7, is not leaving for another job, and his successor has not been named. When asked if the departure was linked to the controversy over the discredited article, Rolling Stone’s publisher, Jann S. Wenner, said, via a spokeswoman, that “many factors go into a decision like this.”

In a statement, Mr. Dana said, “After 19 years at Rolling Stone, I have decided that it is time to move on.” He added: “It has been a great ride and I loved it even more than I imagined I would. I am as excited to see where the magazine goes next as I was in the summer of 1978 when I bought my first issue.”

This makes me think they will do what I said and offer a sizable payoff to these frat bros (I think they’re gonna fight the dean, though). They’re pretty much admitting they’ve fucked up in some major ways by getting rid of the editor. The thing to do now is to fire Sabrina Erdely as well. She’s the woman who wrote the article and broke numerous journalistic norms throughout the process. She’s not fit to write copy anywhere in the United States…hell, the world. We’ll see if the ax catches her ass soon or not.

I’m about to go work on some stuff for today. I’ll have the comic up in minute. We’re getting close to the end of the first batch, but we have series two starting up right after. Thank you again to the anon artist who draws this stuff for us. Let me know what you think about the scumbags at Rolling Stone down below.