Journalist Jeff Sneider Apologizes After Facing Backlash Over Public Threats to Publish 'Non-Stop Rumors' on Inde Navarrette

Entertainment journalist Jeff Sneider has drawn sharp public criticism and accusations of unprofessionalism after issuing an explicit threat against actress Inde Navarrette over ignored media inquiries.

via: Pink News

Sneider initially posted on Twitter on September 3 that he planned to write about Navarrette “for a long time”, adding that he could be “a useful friend” to her team or, rather, could “share literally everything” he heard about her. He accompanied the post with what appeared to be a screenshot of an email sent to the actress’s representatives.

When one person commented underneath the post, writing, “complaining a young actress team doesn’t give you the time of day is giving creeper tbh”, Sneider pushed back.

“Complaining? I wasn’t complaining. That was a threat!” he replied. “Engage, or don’t, and be subjected to non-stop rumours.”

He went on to say that he would actually “love to continue being ignored” because it would allow him to “say whatever I want,” adding that doing so had been “very lucrative” for him.

The exchange quickly drew criticism online, with commenters describing his behaviour as creepy, unprofessional and inappropriate. Several users questioned why an entertainment journalist was publicly pressuring an actress and her representatives simply because they had apparently chosen not to engage with him.

The controversy comes at a particularly significant moment in Navarrette’s career. The actress, who broke on the scene with Obsession, has reportedly landed the lead role in The Waffle House Index, an upcoming Apple Original Films project from Plan B Entertainment. She is also attached to the film as an executive producer.

Navarrette is additionally set to play Rogue in Marvel’s upcoming X-Men reboot, putting her at the centre of one of Hollywood’s biggest upcoming franchises.

While Navarrette’s career is rapidly gaining momentum, the conversation surrounding her this week has instead been dominated by a journalist publicly threatening that he intends to report on “literally everything” he hears about her if her representatives continue not to respond to him.

There is a legitimate role and sanctioned avenues for entertainment journalists to report on actors, contact representatives for comment and pursue stories even when publicists do not respond. However, there is a significant difference between reporting a story independently and explicitly framing coverage as something a subject can avoid by giving the journalist access.

UPDATE via Complex: Jeff Sneider has apologized to Inde Navarrette and deleted the posts in which he said the actress could be subjected to "non-stop rumors" if her representatives continued ignoring him. The reversal came following the coverage of Sneider's comments, which drew widespread attention on Friday, September 4.

"Tired of the noise so I'll delete and apologize, as per protocol," Sneider wrote shortly after midnight on Saturday, September 5. "I am sorry to Ms. Navarrette, who was and will continue to be treated fairly, despite previous comments suggesting otherwise."

He acknowledged that his "ego got the best of" him and that he "went overboard with my victory celebration," before saying he would use the holiday weekend "to reflect and maybe I'll return kinder and gentler."

Sneider's apology wasn't entirely conciliatory. He said some of the messages he'd received were "absolutely crazy" and told critics to "take a long, hard look in the mirror, because you're way worse than I could ever be."

He also referenced "death threats or anti-Semitic comments." Sneider did not provide examples of those remarks in the apology post, and no antisemitic comments appeared among the public exchanges cited in previous coverage.

He concluded, "This app is nuts, but I'll never leave, because we deserve each other."

The episode adds to a lengthy record of controversies surrounding Sneider's career. Variety fired him in 2013 for "unprofessional" behavior following an episode in which, after losing an Interstellar scoop, he posted about driving his car into a tree and wrote that his blood would be "on Hollywood's hands."

His tenure at Mashable ended in 2016 following backlash over racially charged comments surrounding #OscarsSoWhite.

Sneider has also found himself publicly challenged over more recent reporting. Sydney Sweeney disputed a report connecting her to a film with Johnny Depp, while Sneider characterized her response as a "non denial."

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse producer Christopher Miller and composer Daniel Pemberton also publicly pushed back on Sneider's reporting that much of the movie had been scrapped.

This week, moderators of Reddit's Marvel Studios community went further, announcing Sneider had been permanently banned as a source for leaks and rumors, citing what they described as his conduct toward people in the Marvel community and industry.

For now, Navarrette has not publicly responded to the exchange or Sneider's apology.