How an author’s pettiness destroyed her career: review bombing, Reylos, and 30+ pages of receipts

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Let's talk about the latest scandal in the book publishing industry to hit us at the very end of the year. Cait Corrain, a promising debut author for the anticipated fantasy book Crown of Starlight, was exposed for creating multiple burner accounts on Goodreads, where she rated 1 star and wrote negative reviews for other debut novels by authors of color - all while rating her own book 5 stars and upvoting it. When interrogated by other authors, she attempted to cover her tracks by creating fake conversations between herself and the "culprit", reigning in the skepticism of Reylos. This culminated into the release of a 30+ page Google doc with screenshots of her Goodreads activity over the past year. Afterward, her agent, publishing house, and promotional partners dropped Cait, pushing her to post an apology. As I comb through screenshots and chat messages, I'll share my own opinions about white liberalism and performative allyship in the publishing world rifled with competitive, insecure authors.
If you see other controversies or interesting topics in the book industry and want me to cover them, tag or message me at my new Twitter account: / _withcindy
SUPPORT THE TARGETED AUTHORS
📕 So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole (Jan 16): amzn.to/3NsQkMS
📕 Voyage of the Damned by Frances White (Jan 18): amzn.to/47Y2tBJ
📕 The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste (Mar 5): amzn.to/3Nrglwa
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📕 Drag Me Up by R. M. Virtues (already out!): amzn.to/3RqNMQy
🧾 Google Doc of receipts: docs.google.com/document/d/1_...
TIMESTAMPS
⌛ 0:00 - A short summary of the scandal, why I rejoined Twitter, and Cait Corrain's promising start
⌛ 04:20 - Torras [ad]
⌛ 05:22 - Suspicious Goodreads activity and how it all pointed to Cait
⌛ 13:05 - Subtweets, group chats, and Cait's fake conversations with "Lilly"
⌛ 26:23 - Albino snake subplot, Google Docs of receipts, and co-opting people of color
⌛ 38:48 - Surprisingly, there are consequences; unsurprisingly, there's an incomplete apology
⌛ 46:36 - Tweets that didn't age well and a plea of reasons for insecure authors to get it together
⌛ 50:08 - Books by the targeted authors to support!
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Пікірлер: 4 300

@ae1103 7 ай бұрын

This has the same vibes of me as a child on roblox bullying then when I get called out, I say that my sister was on my account.

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

Omg ur right

@pancakeshottakes 7 ай бұрын

But you've got self-awareness tho, so good for you 🩵

@twotruckslyrics 7 ай бұрын

the sister / brother excuse ohh 😭

@Alcoatk 7 ай бұрын

@pancakeshottakes I'm willing to bet the author is also self-aware, she's just delusional in thinking that gaslighting will work.

@loremtz2506 7 ай бұрын

Or when you said something risky to your crush over text and then saying a friend took your phone

@kaijulicious 7 ай бұрын

cindy casually dropping that there's someone in the reylo fandom who keeps historical logs of every tweet on the website mentioning them like that isn't one of the most insane things i've ever read with my eyes

@hopekeeley2122 7 ай бұрын

If they’re physically taking screen shots that’s even more insane but I’ve seen fandom bots do this elsewhere. It’s some brain worm shit

@unitlonda4925 7 ай бұрын

Yeah I was also like "how unhinged does one have to be to do that??" 😭 I swear Reylos are a different breed

@gracedilawri9741 7 ай бұрын

If I had to infer as to why that is, there’s a long history of Reylos being harassed and bullied in online spaces due to misinformation and a lot of mischaracterization. So, they keep evidence and receipts in case they are attacked and need to make a case for themselves. It seems crazy, but it used to be WAY worse for reylo shippers

@owlbyovrprepared1128 7 ай бұрын

Have seen some truly awful reylos but I see a reylo and I turn the other way and go about my day, so I wouldn't know about any decent ones.

@thatismostillogical 7 ай бұрын

Lmfao y’all reylos are the ones who went out of their way to harass others in the fandom including the actors themselves like the crap that was flung at John Boyega from reylos was disgusting and racist. Most “harassment” that reylos complain about is others calling out their terrible behaviour

@nootnoot1537 7 ай бұрын

Girl really went with the “within me there are two wolves” ass excuse. You right girl, one is racist, the other is racist

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

LOL

@newmoon4504 7 ай бұрын

😂

@SunniDae333 7 ай бұрын

lmao

@patienceholmes841 7 ай бұрын

Bye 😂✋

@DiabolicalAngel 7 ай бұрын

BOOM! lol

@anjaxuanreads 6 ай бұрын

2023 started with an author faking her own death and ended with another author digging her own grave

@withcindy 6 ай бұрын

Omg ur so right

@miccassidy6337 6 ай бұрын

Talk about bookends.

@emilyrln 6 ай бұрын

The circle of life 😂

@bravehearts6226 6 ай бұрын

What a year 🎉❤

@esobelisk3110 6 ай бұрын

someone faked their death???

@C.T.T535 7 ай бұрын

You're kidding me! A 2 book deal *and* potential movie rights? Out the gate?! This woman had success and fortune all but handed to her on a silver f*cking platter. The lifelong dream of *so many* aspiring writers... and literally all she had to do was keep her head down. I just cannot believe someone could throw all of that away *just because* she had to be spiteful and insecure toward other creators who did nothing to her. Disgraceful doesn't cover it.

@-cocoa 7 ай бұрын

Exactly like she literally had one job😅

@hakanozaslan9571 7 ай бұрын

Well...racists being racists I guess. Even if they get ALL OF THAT SUCCESS, they still have to stomp on those who they think are "less worth" than themselves.

@steph2994 7 ай бұрын

And she got a special edition of her book ready to be sold out the gate.

@paulwoodford1984 6 ай бұрын

she only got picked up because her story fit the current boring woke narrative

@mammajamma4397 6 ай бұрын

On top of that, the book is C R A P. This *must* have been a nepo deal.

@AndreggvilJammer 7 ай бұрын

The way the fake Discord convo read so much like book dialogue instead of real dialogue was such a dead giveaway.

@BE-ew2pt 7 ай бұрын

You mean you don't yell "I TRUSTED YOU!!" in Discord DMs? Shocking. 😂

@animeotaku307 7 ай бұрын

Real dialogue in a soap opera

@XuiLeeEv 7 ай бұрын

Shitty exposition and all lmao "Remember the other day when you said you were worried about other authors in your imprint group..." Lol

@zakai-kaz 7 ай бұрын

@@BE-ew2pt it was the multiple exclamation marks for me😂

@MassimoConnolli 7 ай бұрын

I fuckin love this whole bit I wish there were more fake Discord conversations like this Cindy could read out

@KatBlaque 7 ай бұрын

The way she faked this story is not a huge endorsement of her as a writer…. Make it believable sis

@nellybird7385 7 ай бұрын

It’s like she saw Creepshowart and decided that is the level of fuckery she wanted.

@nellybird7385 7 ай бұрын

Nice to see you!!!! I feel like we have the same recommended page. See you at the next blackswan upload.

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

this was like getting a sneak peek into her writing and plotting skills and we can now have an accurate assessment of the quality

@imawakemymindisalive13 7 ай бұрын

@@withcindywhat quality? i think you mean the lack thereof 😅

@opo3628 7 ай бұрын

For real. Quite honestly, if that climatic Discord confrontation with "Lilly" is an example of Cait's best, most convincing writing...sorry, not sorry, but I can't imagine that Crown of Starlight is any good to begin with.

@sinnamonbun2220 6 ай бұрын

She was fighting her demons in the DMs 😭

@sinnamonbun2220 6 ай бұрын

That DM conversation has got to be a therapy exercise 😭

@withcindy 6 ай бұрын

Me vs the dog in me

@CarlyUTube 5 ай бұрын

😂😂😂😂😂 and they won!

@geministrial950 4 ай бұрын

She had her little Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde moment (I'm sure I butchered the name)

@sporkbun8738 6 ай бұрын

I love how the "Lily" person goes from having the mental capacity of a child and seemingly not understanding that their actions have consequences, to a mastermind supervillain concocting an entire smear campaign against the author.

@adeleaslan8182 6 ай бұрын

The character development was pretty poorly done imo. But after the twist ending it all came together

@B-zk9bt 5 ай бұрын

Maybe the real “Lily” was the friends we made along the way.

@randompromises1038 5 ай бұрын

So glad this book didn't get published after all because what was that twist

@cosmosadorabilis7677 4 ай бұрын

The thing is, these people actually exist. This is how psychopath operate.

@Lucifersfursona 3 ай бұрын

@@cosmosadorabilis7677don’t slander cluster b’s like this

@greyves_ 7 ай бұрын

i am so tired of atrocious behavior rooted in systemic issues (racism usually) being attributed to mental illness.

@IDislikeMacaroni 7 ай бұрын

Ikr it is such a dumb excuse and creates more stigma around mental illness. It also enables racist behavior because people get too scared to call others out. 🤦‍♀️

@personone1382 7 ай бұрын

fr, my middle school's 8th grade english department had us learn about how "slavery dehumanizes the enslaver" and "mental health disorders enslavers probably had" because we were reading frederick douglass' autobiography. they really missed the point and it just ended up being ableist and racist all in one. enslavers had free will and abusive power, unlike enslaved people. enslavers were not "also dehumanized". they also had us attribute NPD and SPD (sadistic personality disorder, which is not in the dsm 5) to enslavers.

@acivilright 7 ай бұрын

It tracks though, so often when a usually white mass shooter is born, it's blamed on mental health too 🤷🏿‍♀️

@angelikaskoroszyn8495 7 ай бұрын

I think that shitty mental health and racism play well toghether. Let's say you have paranoia. You fear that someone constantly follows you and they want to hurt you. You seek validation because nobody around you takes your feelings seriously. But there's one group which does it. They take those fears very seriously. They say "you're right, somebody wants to get ya". Guess who are those "evil" people? Well, according to white supermacists those are black people

@spagheleton 7 ай бұрын

the root cause of both slavery and racism has always been profit and power, not "mental illness". so sickening that someone would use that as an excuse

@XiranJayZhao 7 ай бұрын

What personally offended me the most through this whole mess is the piss poor villainy. Somehow Cait managed to make every worst decision at every stage.

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

I see an icon has entered the chat

@SaerasChuu 7 ай бұрын

This is truly Nickelodeon live action tv show level bad guy behavior.

@lanaharper9798 7 ай бұрын

And she would’ve gotten away with it too we’re it not for those meddling kids

@theeviloverlord7168 7 ай бұрын

I always see stuff like this as doubly insulting. Like… come on, if you’re going to be an utter shithead at least have the courtesy of being smart about it…

@s_d429 7 ай бұрын

I love your writing ✨

@rikkifishy 7 ай бұрын

7 minutes in and I can already tell our villain is not Moriarty levels, but Scooby Doo levels.

@Ceruleansquid-lo3iv 6 ай бұрын

I mean, Scooby-Doo villains were rich white people who wanted to keep their status, but they also did a lot of set up. This is more like lazy Msscribe.

@SunniDae333 6 ай бұрын

lmao

@Nzp6959 4 ай бұрын

😂😂

@happilyeverafter7703 4 ай бұрын

"And I would have gotten away with too, if it weren't for you meddling POCs!!! "

@redblushinrose 8 күн бұрын

@@happilyeverafter7703and reylos

@aliciagreen5411 6 ай бұрын

I'm sorry but "and I have a job, so imagine someone that can carry out this jobless behavior" made me laugh pretty hard

@withcindy 6 ай бұрын

My job is actually to make u laugh 💓

@queenluciefer 6 ай бұрын

Same! "Jobless behavior" had me letting out the UGLIEST cackle 😂

@WildArtistsl 6 ай бұрын

* me drowning in my assignment* How does anyone have time to hate someone smh

@MCFiFi99 7 ай бұрын

Judging from the exchange between lily and cate, I can tell we didn't lose a big writing prodigy...

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

the way i could tell the quality of her writing just by that weirdass convo she tried to put together lol

@sinewhound 7 ай бұрын

The ability to have your characters have their own dialect and a unique voice to them is what hooks me into a novel. I genuinely don't think we'll die without this book.

@mina352 7 ай бұрын

the best part is that cait was known in the reylo fandom for writing fanfics featuring fake discord convos between the characters

@dopaminedrought395 7 ай бұрын

@@mina352 after watching the whole video, this comment is what did me in, omg

@danaslitlist1 7 ай бұрын

LMAO!! I said the same thing to my friend xD like wow this dialogue is awful!

@lassoroot 7 ай бұрын

Not Corrain getting the "leave this poor baby alone! What more do you want from her? She said sorry! 🥺" treatment while a black woman is burned at the stake for venting her frustation about being targetted by THAT VERY PERSON!!

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

EXAAAAACTLYYYYYYYYYYYY

@TheNumnutRandomness 7 ай бұрын

"You feel proud leading a harassment campaign against a lone author? 😠" MY GIRL WAS LITERALLY A ONE-PERSON HARASSMENT CAMPAIGN. BE FORREAL

@KadaArt 7 ай бұрын

Literally this

@Tw0Dots 7 ай бұрын

Ugh this is daily for blk women Sht is so trash dude

@opo3628 6 ай бұрын

Apologists for bad behavior make my blood boil. They truly are the worst.

@dragonize9826 7 ай бұрын

The reylo that literally sifted through 1.8 mil tweets about reylo and the last jedi is both insane and also a real one lmao they literally said "you're not pinning this on MY fandom" Also a Black woman being pinned with ableism in light of a white woman acting out is truly an Internet Moment of All Time.

@Catn255 4 ай бұрын

I was so confused?? I feel like being offended by that is ridiculous.

@-lovecassy_333 3 ай бұрын

@@Catn255- literally!! I was just like-?? That wasn’t even about you Meredith!!! 🙄😒

@kaskaskas 2 ай бұрын

Meredith was the most annoying part of this saga. She’s obsessed with herself fr

@sfdjkdj43589stf 2 ай бұрын

I had to rewatch that part of the video to make sure that someone legitimately keeps an archive of EVERY tweet that mentions reylo like what???

@Dione92 6 ай бұрын

Even Regina George in a fit of rage knew to trash herself in order to shift the blame 🤷🏼‍♀️

@lenhano 7 ай бұрын

Not Cindy giving advice on how her plan could have been better executed 😭😭

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

I'm just sayinnnn if ur gonna be petty at least do it right 😪

@spudrina 7 ай бұрын

The way it's literally how Regina George used the burn book against Cady in Mean Girls 😭😭

@Ika0713 7 ай бұрын

@@spudrina This is exactly what I thought!

@randompromises1038 7 ай бұрын

Shit, I've even fabricated Discord chat convos myself in the past by logging into one account on an incognito tab and the other on a main tab. She had all those fake accounts, it was laughably easy to switch from a Discord handle on her phone to a Discord handle on her laptop.

@dreamyvelvets6081 7 ай бұрын

@@spudrinashe literally had the perfect guide right there yet still failed spectacularly 😂

@DS-bb4vy 7 ай бұрын

The Reylo fan with "I have every tweet that's ever involved Reylo saved on my PC" is the wildest shit I've ever seen. Like... Holy shit, why?

@h2o2630 7 ай бұрын

That part made me laugh so fricken hard 😂

@socheeb 7 ай бұрын

i'm /majorly/ into star wars but never interact with fellow fans and from what little i know of reylos they all seem pretty crazy and defensive. this drama tracks from what i know of them, rabid and poor writers.😭

@dopaminedrought395 7 ай бұрын

I try not to think too hard about that because nothing I come up with really measures to reality lmao

@Jenninka 7 ай бұрын

Nearly 2 million of them! I can only aspire to have that level of obsession with anything

@otterzrkuhl 7 ай бұрын

@socheeb lmao dude i am a reylo and i dont interact with them because of all this insanity

@WhenNerdsAttack 7 ай бұрын

Fun story: I used to run in cosplay circles with her, and she caused so much drama and lied about people I dropped her after realizing that she was the center of the drama wheel, and things got so much better once I removed her from my life. Never thought I'd see her pop up like this but, well....lol.

@Hawkatana 6 ай бұрын

She was in the cosplay community?

@WhenNerdsAttack 6 ай бұрын

@@Hawkatana She was! She went by Commander Cait, and ran in Bioware (dragon age/mass effect) and star wars circles (at least thats where I dealt with her). She was also in Critical Role. It seems she's purged a lot of her cosplay stuff (probably re: her trying to publish? I dont know), but you can still see stuff. As a note: She was a pretty good cosplayer!! I was always impressed by her construction skills and all. That wasn't her issue. It was her attitude/sheer need to cause drama and be a backstabber.

@Hawkatana 6 ай бұрын

@@WhenNerdsAttack Wow. It feels like the more I learn, the less I understand.

@CutiePieSweetz 6 ай бұрын

A few people have said that about her! I can't understand how someone can have this much hatred/need for drama in their heart

@terrax527 6 ай бұрын

What did she do exactly? if you dont mind sharing

@mizuphoenix3892 7 ай бұрын

I don't know how this popped into my feed of recs. But I had Cait accuse me of "stealing her idea" for a fic I had posted years before in the Reylo community. While I was small fish, I had friends who were much bigger fish, so it never went further, and I just let it go. But I can confirm and still have reciepts that shows that targeting "threats" to her works has been a tactic of hers for YEARS. I humbly thank you for giving me closure on an old would, and the knowledge that Karma came for her. Thank you!!!

@NatalieBusby 7 ай бұрын

jesus christ, im sorry this happened. Just goes to show she is still putting up a facade bc this was always her, not the drugs, addiction, or mental illness, she was always in control

@13Amazons 6 ай бұрын

Is it okay if I ask what your idea was? I used to follow Cait on Ao3 when she was writing Reylo fic

@misss7777 6 ай бұрын

So it is really a case of a fanfic writer thinking they can pull the same shit in a real life business deal as in an online fanfic forum... that's a very convoluted sense of reality.

@fs3743 6 ай бұрын

You literally disproved her entire mental illness and substance misuse defence.

@WildArtistsl 5 ай бұрын

Would be cool if you could send them to Xian or someone who also exposed this. Please

@queendsheena1 7 ай бұрын

I know Bethany via Twitter and this has been a rough time for her. She's tough, but Black women shouldn't have to be. Black women, especially the disabled, should be given the grace to be soft and happy. Thank you Cindy for discussing this and spreading the truth. We need as many folks with impact out there stating the facts behind this awful situation.

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

bethany truly dealt with too much caucasity. i hope she has the time and space to rest and also properly grieve over her family death since she was dealing with that too.

@AprilSay 7 ай бұрын

I am fuming that this whole thing has robbed Bethany of the time she needed to grieve a death of someone close to her and that she had to deal with people misrepresenting her character. I hope the book community lifts her and her work up and allows her the space to just breathe now.

@anasong2325 7 ай бұрын

I feel awful for Bethany. It is so frustrating. I am so tired of the antiblackness.

@evanlinden4410 7 ай бұрын

I’m also disabled, and definitely want to support Bethany

@c.a.2945 7 ай бұрын

Bethany deserves worlds better. I'll definitely be checking out her work to support her.

@cj5867 7 ай бұрын

To be honest, It think what makes her EXTRA DUMB, and what really brought her consequences was review bombing books from her Publishing House. She was literally compromising the financial viability of their other books and that can be seen a corporate sabotage. In the corporate world this is soooooo serious, I don't think she grasped how serious this is.

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

I think that's the real reason why she got dropped by everyone, it's extremely unprofessional

@moustik31 7 ай бұрын

She committed the grave sin of not being a "team player" in her publishing company "family". 😬

@juliasaraiva9146 7 ай бұрын

@@moustik31 No, she committed the sin of actively sabotaging people in her field to promote herself. Imagine if she had an office job, and purposefully sent false complaints about her co-workers to make herself look better. She would be fired. She's an author doing the equivalent of that, and so she's been cancelled. It's also convenient that she only did that to people of colour...

@aimun5255 7 ай бұрын

wow the levels of dumbfuckery of this runs sooo deep

@WHOWHATWHENHOWWHY 7 ай бұрын

exactly - she not only is insecure and racist, but also extremely dumb. like who tf jeopardizes their livelihood like this?!?! its so hard to get published at all these days - where is the gratitude and understanding of the world. she's more than dumb - ENTITLED

@aster5285 7 ай бұрын

The conversation with her and Lilly has the same vibes as Smeagol arguing with Gollum 💀

@kiricappuchin 5 ай бұрын

LMAOOO youre so right😭😭

@Newfiecat 5 ай бұрын

Lol now I'm picturing the conversation in Smeagol/Gollum's voice 😂

@hiigghhggg9150 5 күн бұрын

OH. MY. GOD. 😭😭

@adeleaslan8182 6 ай бұрын

I don’t mean to judge Cait’s nefarious, mustache twirling, racist plans, but making multiple accounts just to have all of them like each other’s comments and rate Cait’s book 5 stars is a mistake not even 9th graders stalking people on instagram tend to make

@anasong2325 7 ай бұрын

The fact that she created names to sound more "ethnic," I am absolutely disgusted.

@6Haunted-Days 7 ай бұрын

Why? Only makes sense she’d do that….I would’ve assumed she did that personally tho she sucked at being sneaky in most areas.

@morningglory.2 7 ай бұрын

@@6Haunted-Days why are you questioning that they’re disgusted by that? it’s obvious why it’s a gross tactic

@o_o-lj1ym 7 ай бұрын

She even said her parents are Chinese in one of the reviews

@Dropletsojoy 7 ай бұрын

Why tho, it makes perfect sense? She is trying to hide her identity so if someone did decide to investigate one of the reviews, they would go down the wrong direction.

@stripedpolkadots8692 7 ай бұрын

@@Dropletsojoy what you said, and the fact that it’s gross can BOTH be true. She was targeting a lot of POC and is trying to blame a POC scapegoat? Even if that second part wasn’t intentional, doesn’t change the fact that it looks incredibly gross

@san1t1zer22 7 ай бұрын

i cannot overstate how much i despise that her "apology" started out with "oh i was struggling through all these things" instead of taking ownership of her actions first and foremost

@Lovefortea448 7 ай бұрын

Yeah its such a cop out excuse, especially when it involves other people like here. Like okay, you were struggling but do you think those authors werent struggling as well? Along with their creations being bombed in the spotlight? As an aspiring amateur author, this pisses me off

@candlelight7600 7 ай бұрын

Bestie spotted in the wild

@TiffWaffles 7 ай бұрын

To be honest, looking at her behaviour and how coordinated this all was, I'd have to say that it has less to do with mental health and other struggles and more to do with the fact that she was jealous that other writers were being published and getting the same attention she was. The fact that she went after writers who were people of colour is very telling. Honestly, this author is just disgusting.

@apartmentgroup9671 7 ай бұрын

It's basically just another version of the "Mel Gibson excuse." In other words, it's a total crock of s**t.

@PopfulFrost 7 ай бұрын

White women are steadily finding out that "mental health" isn't a fucking shield.

@DiabolicalAngel 7 ай бұрын

Can I just credit YOU, Cindy, for the incredible research and presentation you have done here? You brilliantly linked this situation to the broader context of systemic racism in larger society. Well DONE. I'm glad my friend recommended your channel.

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

Thank u!!

@heatherw.286 6 ай бұрын

Awesome work - As a professional researcher I can say "hat's off!' on this excellent and important piece. Looking forward to your posts in 2024.

@massconvergence9900 7 ай бұрын

idk ... something about her apology is low-key inspiring. If she can start several sock puppets on GoodReads to reviewbomb her "competition" and prop her up and THEN try to (poorly) cover up her tracks with shittily doctored discord screencaps - all the while (allegedly) in the midst of a mental breakdown... well dang - my ADHD ass can clean my room. (/s)

@kristena5825 6 ай бұрын

💀

@tvccreator_elysius 5 ай бұрын

Mood, though

@cymoner9148 7 ай бұрын

I’m not gonna lie, her fake ass convo with Miss Lilly had me weakk. Sis was writing wattpad text messages with HERSELF 😂

@alienunicorn4178 7 ай бұрын

It was like a teen drama lol

@sarahnoe1588 7 ай бұрын

That's my favorite part of this whole drama.

@RaisonLychi 7 ай бұрын

The OOC chat fics from QUIZILLA had me immersed than her overdraamtic goofy back and fourth.

@zellypenn3784 7 ай бұрын

It’s something I would’ve done in early high school while struggling with weird ass mental illness and attention seeking thingssssss

@AdumbDriver 7 ай бұрын

"Lol, your move." Had me ascending into the next plane.

@EmissaryofWind 7 ай бұрын

She should've rewatched Mean Girls beforehand, Regina George knew to keep the nastiest most insulting entry for herself so she could look like a victim instead of the perpetrator

@EmissaryofWind 7 ай бұрын

Also if you're gonna make fake message screenshots, why wouldn't you make another account and message back and forth so you don't end up with photoshop mistakes, time inconsistencies, etc?

@Duhgel 7 ай бұрын

@@EmissaryofWindCus she's stupid lmfao

@opo3628 7 ай бұрын

@@EmissaryofWind - Seriously. Her Photoshop job was so incredibly bad that if I didn't know any better, I'd say she *wanted* to get caught.

@okmeowokmeow 5 ай бұрын

@@EmissaryofWind even with editing, tell me how a teenage me could do a better job? 😭

@sarahrosereads 7 ай бұрын

Mentally ill white author here who has been battling depression and anxiety since my childhood years, and most recently diagnosed with ADHD. I've been on several medications while trying to lock down my "med combo". I would never even think of doing something like this to fellow authors. Also, it makes me angry (and disappointed) to see that only when backed into a corner did she apologize, then blamed it all on mental illness and alcoholism (which I've seen extensively, firsthand, in my family). Never has this made me or them racist. Like...wtf?!

@WobblesandBean 6 ай бұрын

Yuuuuuup. PTSD, ADHD, depression, anxiety. I feel you. It's been difficult to write much of the time, but the thing to remember is: progress, not perfection.

@WlatPziupp 5 ай бұрын

It's that classic celebrity get out of jail free rehab play

@ALittlePriest101 6 ай бұрын

Poor planning on her part IMO. You have to create the fake accounts several months in advance, build them up so they look like regular accounts, post varying reviews, negative positive and mid, and act enthusiastic about other works maybe in other genres so they're not a threat to you, so THEN you can proceed with your downvoting campaign, and don't do it all at once, that's suspicious. If you're gonna be a villain do it RIGHT!

@adeer87 5 ай бұрын

Right!!

@meeeeehhhhhh 3 ай бұрын

She should've created more accounts and not intersect all the accounts she had in one book, like all 8 accounts liking a one star review. Some accounts would review, but not like, some accounts would review and like, and some accounts would like but not review. Maybe 30+ or so accounts just to be safe. Also, as you said, she should've had some varying reviews and ratings on some other books that are 4-5 star, but I guess she couldn't do this since she's too self-absorbed. I personally think she did all of this without using her head and just thinking casually that it won't be dug too deep. If she's going to cause drama like she usually does, she should've truly planned better.

@dokchampa9324 7 ай бұрын

If the fake convo with lily is anything to go by, she really was right to be worried about her fiction writing getting overshadowed by better works 💀

@Kya_can 7 ай бұрын

I fear you ate her up with this one💀

@erebearr 7 ай бұрын

HELP 😭😭it was deadass giving those Tiktok acting skits i’m donnnee

@PinkBubbleMartini 7 ай бұрын

FR like out of all the things to fall back on, she rlly invented an evil twin 😭

@elephantshell3617 7 ай бұрын

I’m saying! There’s no way that book was gonna be any good 😭😭😭

@kaskaskas 7 ай бұрын

FRRR LMAO. It was the corniest thing I’ve ever read

@hallievanoutryve3109 6 ай бұрын

I will never understand the insecurity and envy of these 'they took our jobs' racists.

@alexv3372 2 ай бұрын

Yeah I don’t get it either Maybe they’re doing a way better job than you? Or maybe they have the qualifications?

@irishpieceoftrash 7 ай бұрын

Genuinely one of the worst, most baffling cases of self sabotage I've seen in recent years. Like she literally could have had it all.

@olivia8243 7 ай бұрын

The fake conversation between her and "Lily" had me CACKLING. Cait wants to be Feyre so bad

@Shyknit 7 ай бұрын

That part made me physically cringe from the second hand embarrassment, it was so obvious it wasn't real, it literally read like a book/fake conversation

@xbjrrtc 7 ай бұрын

Like calls to like 🥴

@belflorxochitl5851 7 ай бұрын

I agree but... Why feyre? 🤔

@olivia8243 7 ай бұрын

@@belflorxochitl5851 Because Cait's book has the ACoTaR naming convention 😂

@gabestewart2278 7 ай бұрын

You'd think Lily would have been blocked way before that personality shift 🤔

@samcarmen 7 ай бұрын

I have no idea who this is, but I’m a simple girl. I see Cindy, I click

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

get ready for a ride

@JennyWas 7 ай бұрын

Yesssss!!!! Anytime I get an alert for a Cindy video, I immediately click!😂

@ventisprout1119 7 ай бұрын

Same Cindy can talk about anything and im ready for the tea😭 always interesting even if i dont know wtf is going on

@samcarmen 7 ай бұрын

@@withcindy and a ride it was

@samauthor342 7 ай бұрын

Same 😂

@BlueEst447 7 ай бұрын

ChatGpt could have written a potentially better dialogue convo than whatever that was she had with “Lily”

@HarleyCringe 6 ай бұрын

Yeah, cause chatGPT steals from actual skilled writers 😂

@DrAWily 6 ай бұрын

I appreciate the candidness that comes with telling your past haters where to block you. In an era where the block button and black lists are within a single button’s reach at any time, it’s almost refreshing to see someone point at it and say ‘ this one. This is the one to push if you don’t like me. Just do it. Save us both the stupidity. ‘

@tsifirakiehl4250 4 ай бұрын

The block button is a wonderful invention, and I wish more people knew how to use it.

@starlight.9307 7 ай бұрын

Props to RF Kuang for predicting this insane behavior in Yellowface👏 The way Cait took the whole book to heart 💀

@bravehearts6226 7 ай бұрын

OMG 😂

@edgesidontknowher4997 7 ай бұрын

This is insanely funny

@luxmin6115 7 ай бұрын

i was literally thinking of yellowface through the whole video LMAO

@TheNumnutRandomness 7 ай бұрын

Cait looking at the ending like, "Ooh, bestie! Redemption time✨"

@Zangerstein 7 ай бұрын

😂 Spot on!

@athaliaallen622 7 ай бұрын

What’s even crazier is that Cait would’ve naturally gained popularity for her work. She self-sabotaged her own career all because of insecurity. Wow.

@opo3628 7 ай бұрын

Seriously. Imagine being so self-centered -- so deluded into thinking that only you are allowed to succeed in your industry -- that you'll spend a significant amount of time and effort to actively try to ruin others.

@puppiesgoesrawr 7 ай бұрын

@@opo3628 She got into the habit of writing her self insert fics that she behaved like a self insert character. Makes sense why she would treat her peers like that. She probably didn't see them as a fellow human being, but as some side supporting character in her story

@celisewillis 7 ай бұрын

@@puppiesgoesrawr ugh this is so true. People like this are so self-involved, I wonder how many IRL friends or life she even has/had. To be throwing herself into all of this online deceit and damage, it's just such chronically online behavior.

@jamangel 7 ай бұрын

White insecurity is so scary

@lalez88 7 ай бұрын

I mean I am also frickking insecure about my writing endeavours... but well I just barely started getting into original writing. So we will see... but I have a feeling I won't ever do this for money. Plus: yes on the book community and their research. I am still grateful for the info that some idiot took my fanfics and uploaded them as books on amazon Kdp... without changing anything.

@MrPooleish 7 ай бұрын

"I take full responsibility" pairs really well with "It wasn’t me, my drug-induced mental breakdown is the reacist!"

@nectarinespores 7 ай бұрын

I heard the “i want to boost other marginalized creators whenever possible” paused the video and stared dumbstruck across my room for a solid ten seconds

@sarahni 7 ай бұрын

The "I trusted you!!!" In the fake convo... yeah I dont think we're missing out on the next biggest author of the century

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

I TRUSTED YOU!!!!!!!!

@Maria-ik2vf 6 ай бұрын

The “no more Mr nice guy” plot twist just put the icing on this horribly created cake 💀💀💀

@aboxinspace 2 ай бұрын

I literally wrote og stories with similar dialogue when I was 10... 10

@incuriousgaze 7 ай бұрын

Seeing the reylos come out of the woodworks with receipts (considering the deep history of many reylos and racism) is making me feel like that scene with Legolas and Gimli. “Never thought I’d die fighting side by side with an reylo.” “What about side by side with a friend?” “Aye, I could do that”

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

LMAOOOO it's always a common enemy that unites people

@zakai-kaz 7 ай бұрын

Give them time they'll find some way to make this a setup for a later betrayal

@afrolens9532 7 ай бұрын

@@zakai-kaz I mean they were friends with Cait who apparently had a lot of racist tropes and takes in her stories so-

@spiral477 7 ай бұрын

Omg I commented something similar before I saw this. High five ❤

@hajrahasan3014 7 ай бұрын

@a@@zakai-kaz

@alliedavidson4175 3 ай бұрын

As a writer and an author, I always tell other writers that we are not in competition. What reader has a single book in their library? None. Not only that, readers read faster than the fastest author can write so they're are always looking hungrily for their next meal. The supply is slow the demand is high and that voracious reading monster wants more books. I know this because I'm also part of that voracious monster. I have a huge TBR pile because I hate the feeling of not having my next read lined up. So Cait Corrain ruined a promising career for nothing with some weird idea that similar books would would somehow cancel hers. Huh? No, that's not how it works. Similar books enhance one another. So while I'm at this, I would love to find another book like The Will of Many (already read Red Rising).

@MagisterialVoyager 3 ай бұрын

I need to read this today. Thank you. ❤

@christianevrye 6 ай бұрын

I have a strong suspicion she's going to come back with a memoir in a couple years 😭

@benya14-bo5rx 5 ай бұрын

Oh. Oh no. Oh GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

@blurredmirrors 7 ай бұрын

I’m actually dying at the fake conversation… and LMAO WHAT MEDS MAKE YOU RACIST

@Authorthings 7 ай бұрын

Ambien?? Lol I think someone blamed that for their racism once. I think Roseanne Barr but don't quote me

@universedonut159 7 ай бұрын

none, she's just throwing out excuses for her bs behaviour

@pixieinx 7 ай бұрын

@@Authorthingsthe brand made a whole azz public statement that’s bigotry isn’t a side effect of their drug 😂

@iwakeupandboomimarat 7 ай бұрын

@@Authorthingsit was roseanne barr!!! after she said smth about planet of the apes ab a black woman her excuse was the effects of ambien 😭

@fluffywolfo3663 7 ай бұрын

According to Roseanne Barr, ambien. (This is a joke)

@paradox9478 7 ай бұрын

In the convo with 'Lilly' she could've replied with "What?!?!?!" and faked a 15-20 minute long phone call. It would've seen more normal and she wouldn't have had to make up an unnatural sounding conversation in which she sounds like, uh. I don't even know

@Hopeskyesk 6 ай бұрын

*other authors in this comment section taking notes in case they ever want to do this same thing but not get caught ✍️✍️✍️* lmao 💀

@alex9581 2 ай бұрын

as someone with bipolar disorder, having manic episodes that can result in intense review-bombing of other creators seems totally within the realms of possibility. the racism though?????? yeah no

@crisvis8905 6 ай бұрын

Her book on amazon says "not available," and publication date is "January 2, 2079" 😂

@zoerice4227 7 ай бұрын

Literally all she had to do was sit quiet, hype her friends books up so they in turn hype hers up, and wait. Runaway success was guaranteed. She had the book deal of a lifetime. I'm fucking *baffled*

@mabel4455 7 ай бұрын

I am fucking baffled too O_o?

@Zaftique 7 ай бұрын

It's such a bummer, I was really interested in the concept to her book too, right up my alley, and now it's fully torpedoed. Oh well, time to real a whole ton of other books that *aren't* written by absolute gooberberries. :D

@Sunnyomori649 7 ай бұрын

@@Zaftiquengl given how terrible the dialogue in those fake screenshots are, it made me immediately question her writing ability. Read like a wattpad angst fic

@WHOWHATWHENHOWWHY 7 ай бұрын

I know - and as evidenced by her fake screenshots - I am so shocked she got a book deal. I could fake convos better than she could. written like fanfic I wrote back in 2003 on xanga ... im a fucking developer who likes math and doesn't WRITE for a living

@GlitterHeather 7 ай бұрын

I think that some people are just their own worst enemy. I don't know about you, but I've met people who just self-sabotage left and right. The only wild thing about this situation is honestly that it played out in public. But people pull shady shit like this all the time, and then have surprised Pikachu face when it blows up in their face.

@dayzedandconfuzed 7 ай бұрын

she should’ve done it burn book style and written “cait’s books are absolutely horrible” like did mean girls teach her nothing????

@Thepeanutcollector 5 ай бұрын

Like if she wanted to have her Regina moment, she shouldn’t have been acting like cady

@wendynerd1199 5 ай бұрын

@@Thepeanutcollector That's unfair to Cady. You mean Karen.

@kbye2321 5 ай бұрын

@@wendynerd1199 But that’s unfair to Karen. Perhaps Janis?

@BeautifulBelladonna 4 ай бұрын

She's no Regina George, more of a Saturday morning villain

@sstefanoska 7 ай бұрын

The exclamation marks in the conversations are the immediate red flag lol no real person who is confronted just starts going like "I am so sorry!! I was trying to help!!" and continually tries to use proper grammar while arguing with a friend.

@alicea7770 5 ай бұрын

this gave me flashbacks to jk rowlings recent book which rants for 900 million pages about cyber bullying and how negative it is, like the desperate pettiness and effort put into positioning yourself as the victim will never compare to how much idgf

@michelleshen7061 7 ай бұрын

The funniest part is, after making all those goodreads accounts, Cait couldn't be bothered to make a second discord account as "Lilly" and fake messages that way

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

she was prob panicking

@brkh96 7 ай бұрын

Seriously, it would have been so much faster and easier rather than painstakingly photoshopping

@ilovegarlicbreadandice 7 ай бұрын

@@brkh96 i know righttttt the entire time cindy was talking about how the padding was messed up i was like why in gods name would you photoshop texts???? like sis??? what???

@YourWaywardDestiny 7 ай бұрын

The way she couldn't even think to "censor" the name to explain away more of the misalignment weirdness also gets to me. She could have literally just thrown a messy bar over it and it would be way harder to clock, but nah.

@bobatealily 7 ай бұрын

“Meanwhile, women of color are demonized for being slightly off-putting or annoying.” 😭 This hits way too close to home and I’ve been bearing the brunt of it since childhood and still do to this day.

@sweetoleander9048 6 ай бұрын

To be fair, women across the board in general get told this regardless of color. Not all, but a lot of men don't like strong vocal women so we get told this.

@rakamukherjee9070 6 ай бұрын

@@sweetoleander9048I’m sorry but your comment is insensitive and untrue. Women of color are unfairly put to standards of behavior that white women are not, you just do not know the difference because you will never be a person of color. white women of course face misogyny, but women of color face misogyny, racism, and importantly, the integration of both those things. As cindy said, this woman made a mistake and had multiple opportunities to come clean and apologize and did not; have you ever even heard of a woman of color doing something like this? I mean this very gently and kindly, but I would implore you to reflect and try to become self aware of how whiteness benefits white women.

@wachukamugenyu3743 6 ай бұрын

But...are you? Genuinely curious because I suffer from that too and always check if it's me or someone's bias.🤔

@kanoelani3425 6 ай бұрын

@@sweetoleander9048was the commenter talking about all women? no, they were talking abt women of color. not everything has to involve you

@turtle_goddess9522 6 ай бұрын

@@sweetoleander9048😐👎🏾

@mauvecosmic2996 26 күн бұрын

she have the full Inside Out movie plot played out in her head with those "lilly's DMs" is crazy

@ladydiamond6611 5 ай бұрын

I have to admit to myself that this video is now a comfort watch for me........

@afterglcw5050 5 ай бұрын

on my 4th casual rewatch

@ladydiamond6611 5 ай бұрын

@@afterglcw5050 and it hits ery time

@-lovecassy_333 3 ай бұрын

Same, anytime I feel like I’m not doing enough in life….I at least know that I’m not this down under

@MissGrandeko Ай бұрын

I’m hollering cause hard same. I have def rewatched this more than once 🤣

@whatzittooyah9182 7 ай бұрын

Some critics referred to Yellowface by R.F. Kuang as too “on-the-nose” and yet here we are 💀

@courtnie1783 7 ай бұрын

truly the simpsons of the book community

@ndawn90 6 ай бұрын

@@courtnie1783 This comment is pure gold!

@marissapilant7505 7 ай бұрын

Did she learn nothing from Regina George and the Burn Book set up??? For shame.

@ashildrtheswift3028 7 ай бұрын

At least Cait only got hit by a metaphorical bus 😅

@kaskaskas 7 ай бұрын

Tbf if she had given herself 2 or 3 star reviews too no one would’ve known it was her

@argusfleibeit1165 7 ай бұрын

She learned that Regina George (I have no idea) has some name recognition and a story on the internet. Now y'all are helping her to get the same thing. Fame or infamy pays off eventually.

@meredithdurfy2337 7 ай бұрын

@@argusfleibeit1165It’s from a movie, Mean Girls.

@dustrose8101 7 ай бұрын

@@kaskaskas At the very least she should've either not touched her own book or 5 starred it with DIFFERENT accounts!

@andrew99877 5 ай бұрын

the fact that she rated every book of hers five stars on her other goodreads accounts is just- like if you’re gonna do this at least rate a FEW books of yours low so nobody would suspect you. idk if she thought it would hurt her fragile ego, but if you’re gonna do this, at least do it right.

@fs3743 6 ай бұрын

It's interesting that in her conversation with "Lily" Cait attacks "Lily" and rips her for risking Cait's career and the impact it has on Cait, even when she's trying to cover for herself she only sees herself.

@patriciagoncalves165 7 ай бұрын

Xiran Jay Zhao is such a great person/author to come foward with all this receipts and put a light on this matter.

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

They're the MVP

@solguereta9841 7 ай бұрын

For real, it was a brave move! They could have kept quiet in fear of backlash but they didn't

@notactuallyacat. 7 ай бұрын

Massive respect. According to their TikTok, they said that they were only quiet before because the other authors asked them to try and let themselves solve it privately first

@universedonut159 7 ай бұрын

Yes, love them and I knew Cindy would cover it too

@honoluluw 7 ай бұрын

kinda off topic here but I love their youtube videos too they're really entertaining

@margaesperanza 7 ай бұрын

Thea Guanzon lives in the Philippines too so her getting published internationally is a BIG deal. In the height of her reylo fic days, so many people anticipate whenever she drops a chapter. And from time to time she shares snippets of her life to a majorly-western fandom. I feel like Cait (even if she was friends with Thea) couldn’t accept that a non-native speaker can write better than her.

@hopekeeley2122 7 ай бұрын

She was great

@Demi_Purple 7 ай бұрын

the more I learn about this whole thing the uglier it gets

@celisewillis 7 ай бұрын

Shit you're right

@lordarthur2165 6 ай бұрын

Isn't English one of the official languages in the Philippines?

@chrisandthebellz 6 ай бұрын

⁠@@lordarthur2165 yes but most filipinos won't learn it as their first language. its basically shit you learn in school, not a native language

@piareadsbooks2351 6 ай бұрын

Following this bookdrama I finally understand how people are into true crime like I would listen to this as a podcast religiously 💀✨

@mpd1732 6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for calling out that one other author in the middle of this, when I first heard that I wanted to roll my eyes so quickly, there’s nothing that bugs me more than a person getting half the facts and then being petty and stubborn and acting like they had done their research when really they've jumped to conclusions and wanted to be the main character of the drama. Those folks have more patience than me, I would have whipped out the "??? Yo, this ain't about you" and shut that down so fast. You don't even need to name drop them to say clearly and explain that they don't know what's the actual drama going on...

@AprilSay 7 ай бұрын

one of the more disgusting if not the most disgusting part of this is that Bethany had to defend themself against claims of ableism while cait was allowed to hide and then throw their substance addiction at the issue as if any of the prescribed meds have racism as a side effect listed on them. overall terrible behavior and i really hope cait never tries to come back under a different pen name!

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

classic deflection. it's always easier to demonize black ppl and POC rather than hold white ppl accountable

@user-re5ho3sh2k 7 ай бұрын

wait I thought that was a choice? Like Bethany chose to defend herself and Cait didn't (until she backed herself into a corner). Did I misunderstand something? Especially because everyones calling her out for it. She wasn't "able" to hide behind anything. She's getting called out.

@AprilSay 7 ай бұрын

@@user-re5ho3sh2k I suppose I may have worded my original comment poorly but I don't think it really felt like a choice to Bethany who was being subbed by other authors about her comment being perceived as ableist as well as her tweet and Meredith's involvement gaining more attention than the issue at hand which was Cait's poor decision making. When I said Cait was allowed to hide behind her substance abuse I meant she was able to sit back, lock her social media down and come up with another excuse (because that is what it feels like- no medicine or alcohol makes you racist. You just are.) and leave Bethany to the wolves while Bethany was already in a distressed state as she was mourning a loss of a close family member. Cait got to run off and hide while Bethany had to defend herself, and then in her "apology" she barely even addressed it.

@NovasReign 7 ай бұрын

@@user-re5ho3sh2kis it a choice if you have nothing to hide behind and dont want your work effected by peoples stupidity and inability to do research and just pounce on her

@user-re5ho3sh2k 7 ай бұрын

@@AprilSay I think I understand. Your point is that Cait is responsible for the problem in the first place and Bethany who didn't mean it in the way it was perceived, drew attention away from Cait's mistakes. Thereby, freeing Cait of some of the responsibility that comes with the ethically wrong things she did. And, Bethany was socially obligated to defend herself, otherwise, people would go on thinking negative things about her due to Cait's actions. The only other thing I have with your comment is "allow". I think its important to note no one "allowed" her to do anything. its just that the internet doesn't have control over people's actions. Technically, (in the physically possible sense) Bethany could have chosen to do the same HOWEVER she understandably wanted to protect her reputation, and Cait didn't have a reputation left to protect, hence her making the choice to get off the internet.

@Dani_77709 7 ай бұрын

As someone who has depression and anxiety, and has tried many medications I can assure you none of them made me racist. Her 'apology' post really just dug her grave even deeper.

@AdorableFennec 7 ай бұрын

I haven't watched the video yet so this statement gave me some whiplash

@AdorableFennec 7 ай бұрын

I did not know what I was in for. Did she seriously say her mental health problems made her racist 🤣🤣

@randompromises1038 7 ай бұрын

@@AdorableFennec Her "mental breakdown" caused her to create a very elaborate plan to sabotage her competitors and then double down with another elaborate plan faking Discord conversation screenshots 💀 I'm no psychologist but I ain't never met a single person who would do all of that careful thinking while having a mental breakdown

@NatureFreak1127 7 ай бұрын

One medication gave me anger issues. But I was angry at everyone - regardless of their skin. 😀

@gokuxsephiroth4505 7 ай бұрын

"Try Happysin! The newest depression drug on the market! Lift your spirits and get on with your day! *Warning: Side effects may include constipation, reading minds, becoming racist and suddenly hating dogs* "

@intern_dana 2 ай бұрын

its such a minor detail, but instead of editing discord screencaps in picsart or w/e, she could've just used one of her dozen emails to make another discord, message herself, and screencapped THAT 😭

@intern_dana 2 ай бұрын

like, she was REALLY bad at twirling her 'stache if she had to make so much more work for herself

@klhaldane 6 ай бұрын

I had a total depressive episode, and deleted every one of my fanfics I could find. Several years' worth. Then I felt bad as a programmer that I left all these broken links on the web. It never occurred to me to try and pull down somebody else.

@CassKMac 7 ай бұрын

I so love how Cindy naturally speaks at 1.25x speed or faster, makes my ADHD happy

@117mel 7 ай бұрын

i love that too! especially loved how fastly she read the screenshots, it's like when you recap drama to a friend fast enough to not lose their attention and get to the even juicier parts 😂

@saramm3765 7 ай бұрын

You can’t live in NYC unless that’s your slow speed.

@katrinab8805 7 ай бұрын

Cindy’s ability to speak is SO underrated. No verbal stalls or interruptions, probably no script, just 30+ minutes making every word count. It’s lovely

@jessy7093 7 ай бұрын

@@katrinab8805theres a bunch of jumpcuts lol

@katrinab8805 7 ай бұрын

@@jessy7093 editing well doesn’t diminish or negate anything I said

@SergeantDaynes 7 ай бұрын

Seriously, how do you fumble a bag SO HARD so close to the finish line?! Like, this is how you choose to end the year?! Somebody take notes please because this is special.

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

the holidays are gonna be very lonely for her

@SergeantDaynes 7 ай бұрын

@@withcindy honestly I think few people are as capable of self-sabotage like the self-entitled white woman.

@duckynunu 2 ай бұрын

HELPP THE DMS ARE SO FAKE IT HURTS

@lockette021 3 ай бұрын

Even in faked DMs she's only focused on how this could effect HER, and HER career. Couldn't even fake empathy for the other authors 😬

@hopegrey9977 7 ай бұрын

I believe her mental health and addiction struggles are valid, but her whole statement felt manipulative. We know she’s already great at being performative and the apology reeked of the same behavior she exhibited in her convo with the artist of color and her fake screenshots.

@kaemincha 7 ай бұрын

two things can be true at once!

@apartmentgroup9671 7 ай бұрын

I actually don't know why we are expected to believe the mental illness/addiction thing. This woman is a KNOWN liar. Why would we believe this story? Nahhh. Whatever!

@JessChii 7 ай бұрын

Because most people who suffer from mental illness and addiction don't do what she did. This was meticulous, calculated and required a TON of effort on her part to see this through.

@christianseibold3369 7 ай бұрын

@@apartmentgroup9671 I agree. I'm not sure I believe her depression story. Alcohol, perhaps. But the way she described her depression and her "advice" about it on Twitter made no sense to me.

@monarch3495 7 ай бұрын

From what I know of recovered addicts, addiction can cause them to do bad things, *but* you’re still very much accountable for your bad behavior. It’s a shame she had so many opportunities to make amends. None of the authors wanted her to lose her career, they just wanted her to fix things. Maybe this’ll be her wake up call, though probably not. I’m definitely going to check out the authors who were review bombed when they debut. I hope they all get the success they deserve.

@bobatealily 7 ай бұрын

Mental illness and substances don’t make people racist or want to sabotage innocent people. Cait thought she could get away with this when she’s not as smart and strategic as she thinks. In reality, she doesn’t think. It’s why her scheme looks very much like a bumbling villain sidekick and why she got caught so easily.

@amypanddirtytoo1926 7 ай бұрын

THANK you! I keep saying this! If it's not in you already, substances and/or your mental illness can't bring it out! It has to be in there for it to come to the forefront!

@Claire_Loves_Music 7 ай бұрын

THIS!

@scobeymeister1 6 ай бұрын

Fr. I'm hella mentally ill but it doesn't make me pull shit like this. Mentally ill people are perfectly capable of being held accountable for our actions. Being symptomatic sucks and can hurt us and other people sometimes. We can apologize, make amends, and move on. But this? It's premeditated. Don't put this evil on mental illness, please

@Kevmane_the_bird 6 ай бұрын

Mental illness doesn't make you an asshole. I've got my fair share of disorders that are pretty well managed at this point. I've also got a *lot* of both personal and professional experience with people who have all kinds of mental illnesses, in all kinds of levels of care. Even amongst those withe the "most severe" conditions were some of the kindest and most empathetic people I've ever met, and most just want to be able to live as "normal" a life that they can. Yes, some people with mental illness can be abusive or violent, but not at rates much different from the general population, and they are *much* more likely to be the victims of abuse and violence than the general population. 10 times more likely acording to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) It really bothere me to hear "mentally ill" being used in place of "bad," especially from someone who is standing up for other marginalized groups. I hope they're just under informed, which I would understand, as it is an annoyingly common misconception. Otherwise idk how else to take it than "they're bad because they're different" which is just a different kind of prejudice, and one that people struggling with mental health issues do not need more help internalizing.

@marocat4749 6 ай бұрын

Yep , she doesnt need to have mental health problems to be unhinged, but even like with kanye, he was an antisemite , he just became more unfiltered.

@iarinaioana 6 ай бұрын

must be quite easy to get published nowadays if that discord conversation was indicative at all of her writing.

@stolman2197 6 ай бұрын

This is what happens when you believe that there's only so much success to go around. Personally as a creator I celebrate others doing great things because it means I need to up my game.

@dragonetafireball 7 ай бұрын

Girl might pull a Matt Rife run to the right wing to say “I tried to pander to these leftists and they turned on me”

@opo3628 7 ай бұрын

I'm actually half-expecting that to happen.

@animeotaku307 7 ай бұрын

Matt Rife was always planning to go to the right, though. The signs were there before his special

@animeotaku307 7 ай бұрын

Matt Rife was always planning to go to the right, though. The signs were there before his special

@celisewillis 7 ай бұрын

Idk how "left" you can even be when you actively tear down people of color by threatening their livelihood like this. This is straight right wing behavior.

@DawnOfDragonz 7 ай бұрын

Man, that conversation between Lilly and Cait sure was attempting to channel the energy of the Jekyll and Hyde confrontation song

@Moocow2003 7 ай бұрын

AND I'LL LIVE INSIDE YOU FOREVER, WITH GOODREADS ITSELF BY MY SIDE!

@adeleaslan8182 6 ай бұрын

WAIT NO BECAUSE THIS ENTIRE SCENARIO LITERALLY READS LIKE JEKYLL AND HYDE

@rockinrobbbie 6 ай бұрын

The constructed conversation with herself is giving Gollum😭In all seriousness, I struggle with mental health too but surprise surprise-it’s never made me bigoted or racist. Instead of focusing on her, we should all use this energy to buy and support poc authors and their books!! I will be buying all of these💕

@verenabecker2724 6 ай бұрын

As soneone who has never heard the expression 'albino snake in the henhouse' before, I will admit my first thought to reading it was "well that's a strangely specific way of phrasing this". Combine that with the high likelihood someone with albinism would likely have been targeted by someone using similar language before and as a result would be pretty sensitive to it, I can kinda see how she reached the conclusion she did. She still should have handled it privately, but I do think there's a chance she wasn't purposely trying to shift focus.

@IUsedToBeAnAdventurerLikeYou 7 ай бұрын

Cait’s conversation with “Lilly” is like Gollum vs. Sméagol.

@bookshelfhoney 7 ай бұрын

Yes I was thinking that too!!

@sarpcarp 7 ай бұрын

Lmao!!! Totally!

@merrittanimation7721 7 ай бұрын

"We wants to reviewbomb other authors"

@emmaelizabeth7070 7 ай бұрын

HELP

@missilluminati3389 7 ай бұрын

my gods yes

@tatyaraujo8213 7 ай бұрын

This drama was so wild I half expected it to be a marketing campaign for an A24 movie adaptation of Yellowface

@rsmith4407 7 ай бұрын

You know… …you’d probably really enjoy the movie “Zola” if you’ve not seen/heard of it yet. Literally a movie based from a WILD Twitter thread. Great film.

@galaxylucia1898 7 ай бұрын

@@rsmith4407thanks for the recommendations!

@olhydra 2 ай бұрын

She could have avoided ALL of this by just addressing her insecurities in therapy. Her prior tweets show she had enough awareness to recognize the destructive nature of professional jealousy, but instead of realizing she needed to take her own advice, she orchestrated her giant sloppy sabotage operation and nuked her own potential. Tbh, I’m personally glad the trash took itself out in this case, I just wish there wasn’t collateral damage.

@jazwhoaskedforthis 2 ай бұрын

I wish I was dedicated to anything the way Reylos are dedicated to their ship, man. Keeping all the tweets in a database???

@SaerasChuu 7 ай бұрын

Regarding "believing authors can't truly be cancelled", Cait's biggest mistake was doing this stuff way BEFORE her book came out. Most authors that survive getting canceled have a readerbase/backlog to fall back on, but she's a debut trad author who burned all her bridges in the communities she was in; not just with other trad authors, but with her Reylo crew. She doesn't actually have the audience to keep her afloat or go back to after being cancelled. If she had waited until the Illumicrate book had come out before going mask off bitter bee, then surely she would have had a least a FEW dedicated readers who either don't know or don't care about twitter drama; it's also possible that the contracts would have been far enough along that her partners wouldn't have been able to cancel project(s) easily because they would have been too far along/too invested to take that loss, and would have instead helped her salvage as much of the situation as they could in order to remake the money spent on her before quietly not offering her anything else. But her need to be ahead of the other authors bit her hard. (Also, being able to lie at least halfway decently would have helped her get away with it.) I will never understand people who target nonwhite authors this way. Like, it's SO much work, targeted effort, for... what??? Being ahead of them??? Like she already was, it seems, given that she had a massive contact with talk of movie rights as a debut author? I'm continuously fascinated by the way these wackos 'pick' their targets. I just can't comprehend spending this much time and effort to be an unpleasant wench toward complete and utter strangers. Even if they're your 'competition.' This is 2010s tumblr using anon to send hateful messages and then one positive message as your actual account in order to make the other user like you level of plotting and execution. And she forgot to hit anon on one of the hate messages. I feel sorry for everyone involved, but especially Bethany, who really didn't deserve to be the unfortunate centerpiece of this spiraling debacle. I hope all the affected authors go on to have long, successful careers, cuz Cait is never gonna get those opportunities again. Imagine throwing away a fast-track to your dream career to give out some 1 star reviews of books you never read.

@brkh96 7 ай бұрын

But that's the point isn't it. She was afraid of how her book WOULD do. If she waited until her book had come out and received rave reviews (the plot sounded promising), she wouldn't have done shit like this at all (or at least, wouldn't need to)

@maurinet2291 7 ай бұрын

I still think she might garner a memoir deal out of this in a few years.

@SaerasChuu 7 ай бұрын

@@maurinet2291 Nah, she isn't notable enough for a memoir about it. She might feature in someone else's book chronicling author career bombs, as a case study.

@honoluluw 7 ай бұрын

apparently she's a trust fund kid so that's another layer of privilege (i was scrolling through xiran's tweets and found a tweet mentioning it)

@KateHolden 7 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, a lot of privileged people, on being told they had a head start in the race, decide that it's therefore shameful not to stay ahead and finish ahead by an appropriate margin. They point to marginalised peeps who have achieved amazing things and go, "If you're celebrating them, you're basically saying *I suck* because I had all these "advantages" and they still overtook me!" ... because they're secretly afraid that they're not actually an exceptional, hardworking writer, but that actually literally any rando could achieve everything they have and more with the same access to great contacts, education, advice, and a financial safety net. It's why they'll try to cast doubt on the impact of inequality, or emphasise their own disadvantages like mental health etc. Basically it's all about protecting their self-image as a gifted, exceptional person who didn't squander their advantages, and they're so entitled, they don't care who gets hurt along the way.

@Rikrobat 7 ай бұрын

Can we just normalize celebrating other people in our creative field? I know book publishing is a competitive market, but that’s no excuse to be a vengeful, jealous wretch. Support each other and challenge the problems in the system; don’t perpetuate the harm already there. All right. Taking a break from editing this textbook to get up to date on this situation.

@Beansquishy 7 ай бұрын

I agree with ur comment but I think why I'm flabbergasted is even though this is a competitive market she already got what she wanted... like once you get published you do need sales but theres no reason to put other books down since avid readers read tons of books! There was tons of room at the table and they still felt the need to tear other people down. Insanity

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

unfortunately i think many people don't actually care about systemic issues as much as they say they do; they only care whether they are the ones impacted by it or not

@Lovefortea448 7 ай бұрын

Yeah, i can only imagine how hard it is to have your art recognised. We gotta help each other out (or at least focus on your own work rather than tarnish others)

@apartmentgroup9671 7 ай бұрын

It doesn't even make sense that this woman would be "jealous." She had a two-book deal and positive buzz ahead of a May release. And she was even going to be featured as an Illimicrate writer. So she had MORE than most other writers do. Where is the jealousy coming from?

@Grey_3438 7 ай бұрын

@@apartmentgroup9671Insecurity is a bitch, you can have it all and still fear that it's never enough

@oboewankenobie 7 ай бұрын

Someone on Twitter was talking about this is literally the plot of Yellowface and I have not stopped thinking about it since and I am glad you brought it up lol. This woman is INSANE for doing this. There is no telling what was going through her head, but if you are reviewing bombing others to make your book look better it tells me that you do not have confidence in your book to do well.

@isabelwaterman7631 2 ай бұрын

love how in the discord they let each other finish.... so unrealistic

@auggiemain 7 ай бұрын

Regina George was smarter than this author 😭😭

@pauieeepau 7 ай бұрын

Regina George would never have been caught in the act😬

@RodrickMarsMoon 7 ай бұрын

Regina George would've prepared someone to take the blame for her right before the start of the plan just in case.

@auggiemain 7 ай бұрын

@RodrickMarsMoon Regina George would've made sure the reviews were at different times and wouldn't like the other reviews and would've reviewed EVERYONE not mostly POC and wouldn't have reviewed her own book and if one person started being suspicious of her she would've started negatively reviewing her book and positively reviewing the author she wanted to take the falls book

@RodrickMarsMoon 7 ай бұрын

@@auggiemain Wow, that's very accurately for Regina George to do; I don't even know what to add to it 😵😄.

@blair94 7 ай бұрын

One of the best parts of this is that she calls what SHE did psychopath behavior. Iconic.

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

Self awareness almost realized

@blair94 7 ай бұрын

So close yet so far

@celisewillis 7 ай бұрын

It's interesting. There does seem to be a part of humans that is fully aware of our own actions like this, but other aspects of the mind cover this up to protect the self-image, or something. I'm thinking about when bullies accuse other people of bullying them, all that projecting behavior that they assume other people are acting as conniving as they are.

@lakobause Ай бұрын

18:01 “I could lose my deal. I could lose everything.” For a debut author she really fails to understand foreshadowing.

@scrambledeggs9801 5 ай бұрын

Hey I know this is weird but your dissection of racism and cait’s behavior really helped me out and gave me a better understanding of myself and how to be a better person. Thank you.

@Erideah 7 ай бұрын

Funny how even in the fake exchange with the invented person, a lot of the descriptions of the damage are still softened ("damage you could have done") and centered on herself and her name rather than the people targeted supposedly on her behalf. Like she couldn't even manufacture the rage coming from the right places, if she were actually in the situation she invented

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

very good point!!

@dopaminedrought395 7 ай бұрын

right! how this could have affected MEEE, how MYYY reputation could be ruined, me me me

@coolsenjoyer 7 ай бұрын

To be fair, even a good person in real situation like this would likely center themselves in a private conversation with the wrongdoer, especially with a supposed friend. The fact that she didn't try to paint herself in as positive light as possible in those fake DMs is probably the most well thought out aspect of her deception attempt

@randompromises1038 7 ай бұрын

Tbf this did look bad on Cait if this really wasn't her fault so I'd get the fear but goddamn?? At least pretend to care about the other people you hurt???

@alexia3552 7 ай бұрын

@@dopaminedrought395 It's interesting how bigoted attitudes really echo narcissism. It's not _just_ narcissists who are bigots, either, because people who in most situations (where they aren't exposed to the objects of their bigotry) are decently well-adjusted and courteous can also pop out of left field with that BS

@Beansquishy 7 ай бұрын

This whole thing just reeks of insecurity and I think thats the worst part of it. (Besides the blatant racism of course) She literally had everything they could've ever wanted and they threw it all away...

@withcindy 7 ай бұрын

she was her own downfall

@altakugirl1257 7 ай бұрын

The self sabotage is real

@TheRonnieaj 7 ай бұрын

Definition of being the architect of her own destruction

@funishmenttime 6 ай бұрын

Authors shouldn't feel the need to be in competition with each other. People buy books from multiple authors. People like Cait make me afraid to write my own book.