It must have seemed like such a good idea at the time. “Hey guys,” we can imagine an excited member of Robin Thicke’s social media team announcing one day, “what if we got Robin to do a Twitter Q&A? I mean, it worked great when Barack Obama and Bill Gates and all those otehr high profile figures did it on Reddit right?” The other members of the team probably nodded enthusiastically and got to work getting sponsors on board and before you knew it we had #AskThicke, brought to you by VH1.
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Have a burning question for @robinthicke? Submit your ?s for tomorrow's Twitter Q+A using #AskThicke! pic.twitter.com/LwWKWlBysg
— VH1 (@VH1) June 30, 2014
Now you’d think that Thicke’s people might’ve seen that such an event could have the potential to go wrong, given the controversy that surrounded the singer’s song “Blurred Lines” throughout 2013. Perhaps they thought that it was a chance for Thicke to explain himself and have a go at finding redemption. Boy, were they wrong.
How wrong? Well we’ve put together a collection of tweets that illustrate just how badly the Twitter Q&A went:
#AskThicke so when you brought up the idea of this trending hashtag, and your PR guy said no, did you hear yes?
— Lilly Noel (@iAM_LillyNoel) July 2, 2014
#AskThicke I think he is really mad about this tag and he wants it to stop,but the lines are so blurred i think he wants it.
— Toni (@Antoinetteloves) July 2, 2014
#AskThicke whats more of a pleasure to you? publicly stalking your estranged wife or degrading women or do the two go hand-in-hand?
— Carry Potter (@CarriePotter_) July 2, 2014
@robinthicke did you secretly want all the backlash you are getting on twitter right now? Don't answer that, I know you want it. #AskThicke
— Marguerite (@mheyns) July 1, 2014
Robin Thicke says he wants the Twitter abuse to stop, but we all know "stop" means "more". He taught us that himself. #AskThicke
— Samantha Acampora (@LittleMagenta) July 1, 2014
#AskThicke does it frustrate you that it took until your 6th album and a song about date rape for people to really notice you?
— Thomas Powell (@ThomasPowell5) July 2, 2014
After reading #AskThicke tweets, I wanna know how it feels to know R Kelly peed on girls and is still more respected in the rnb community?
— michael owens (@iammichaelowens) July 2, 2014
What's the weirdest thing you would do to avoid being remembered as "that guy who sang that sexual assault anthem"? #AskThicke
— Andrew Todd (@mistertodd) July 2, 2014
Robin Thicke ends career in show business on high note with #AskThicke , applauded as his greatest comedic work.
— Robert Bartlett (@Robert_Bartlett) July 2, 2014
If I #AskThicke if I can punch him in the face and he says no I'll do it anyway because I know he wants it.
— Elliott Maynes (@SharpStreak) July 2, 2014
Have you found out what rhymes with hug me yet? #AskThicke
— Donabella (@Meetmeatsunset) July 2, 2014
Does the hate from an entire country amount to how much Paula dislikes you? #AskThicke
— Delaney Kranz (@kranzmopolitan) July 2, 2014
Do you know you're an insensitive, misogynistic prick or do you need someone to explain further? #AskThicke
— Madison Frers (@mad1s0nn) July 2, 2014
Do you ever just think to yourself "hey, maybe I shouldn't perpetuate rape culture and the objectification of women"? #AskThicke
— linette 🙂 (@kittenbarf) July 2, 2014
Robin #AskThicke feeling rather sad after PR disaster. Still, having made millions off pandering to misogyny and rape culture, he'll be ok.
— Mark Graham (@JoeDescartes) July 2, 2014
#askthicke Did you hear that? I think that was the sound of your career waving bye bye.
— Ian Montgomery (@IANMONTY) July 2, 2014
Have you ever thought that the blurred lines you sing of are a result of needing to visit an optician? #AskThicke
— Neil (@AkUzEd) July 2, 2014
#askthicke Hey Robin. Is it true Fat Albert rang you to say you stole his hey hey hey?. #noteventhatwasoriginal
— Paul Ochsner (@paulochsner) July 2, 2014
Besides rapey thoughts and general misogyny, what inspires you? #AskThicke
— Ariel Kashanchi (@IranianMermaid) July 1, 2014
Are you aware that without musical accompaniment and the privilege of fame, your songs might be considered harassment? #AskThicke
— Bae Dunaway (@KiaJD) July 1, 2014
on a scale of 1 to 10 years, how far do you think you've set white men back? @vh1 #AskThicke
— neil mccauley (@the_blueprint) July 1, 2014
How does it feel to know that you will be used as a case study to examine cultural examples of rape culture for years to come? #AskThicke
— Alex Ngo (@alexrichardngo) July 1, 2014
#askthicke Now that you've made it commercially viable to be a creepingly insidious, misogynistic sexual predator; What's next for you?
— Martin Shaw (@BhunaBhuna) July 1, 2014
Train A leaves the station at 40mph and train B leaves at 55mph, how far is the judge going to order you to stay away from Paula #AskThicke
— Tristan (@AyoTristan) July 1, 2014
"What if I did an #AskThicke hashtag on twitter?"
"Robin that's a terrible idea. No don't do it."
"I'm hearing yes."
"No."
"Yes."
— Josh William Evans (@JoshEvans_) July 1, 2014
