The Houston Press in Texas has apologized for running a feature story headlined “The 10 Hottest Women on the Texas Sex Offenders List”.
Some people found the story, well, offensive. The paper explained that it was trying to show that not all sex offenders look like sex offenders, you know?
Richard Connelly explains: “An item on ‘10 sex offenders who don't look like sex offenders’ might have done the trick, but seemed boring. In an attempt to catch attention (and yes, eyeballs and clicks) I thought of the 10 hottest female sex offenders. ‘Hottest’ because it's a web-headline staple for such listicles.”
Some readers wondered why Richard had not written about the 10 hottest male sex offenders, as well.
We get it. Not all sex offenders look like anyone’s preconceived notion of a sex offender. But … hottest? Note to Richard: If you’re going to do that again, you’re going to have to be funnier, right up front.
Some people found the story, well, offensive. The paper explained that it was trying to show that not all sex offenders look like sex offenders, you know?
Richard Connelly explains: “An item on ‘10 sex offenders who don't look like sex offenders’ might have done the trick, but seemed boring. In an attempt to catch attention (and yes, eyeballs and clicks) I thought of the 10 hottest female sex offenders. ‘Hottest’ because it's a web-headline staple for such listicles.”
Some readers wondered why Richard had not written about the 10 hottest male sex offenders, as well.
We get it. Not all sex offenders look like anyone’s preconceived notion of a sex offender. But … hottest? Note to Richard: If you’re going to do that again, you’re going to have to be funnier, right up front.