Mackenzie Mays is the author who penned the “YachtCocaineProstitutes” article. The article first appeared back in 2018, but it is back in the headlines after the hashtag went viral on social media following a lawsuit from U.S. Representative Devin Nunes of California.
Nunes is suing the McClatchy Company, which owns the Fresno Bee where the article first appeared, for a whopping $150 million for defamation.
Nunes is suing the company over Mays’ article which described a lawsuit by a server who was present on a cruise that was attended by Alpha Omega Winery which Nunes partially owns. On the cruise, there was apparently a lot of drug use and prostitution.
The Republican lawmaker says the article was an attempt at character assassination.
From the report:
The lawsuit filed by Mr. Nunes, a loyal ally of President Trump and former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, says he was not involved in the incident on the yacht and that he considers the article part of a politically motivated scheme to “destroy his reputation” and derail the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Nunes had previously filed a $250 million lawsuit against Twitter.
As for Mays’ take on the lawsuit from Nunes, she has yet to publicly respond. She did, however, say that she is worried about her safety in the current political climate.
“If someone wants to meet me for coffee and I don’t know who they are, there is something in the back of my mind like: ‘I don’t know this person. What are their intentions?’ I never really worried about my safety before all of this,” she said in an interview with GQ.
“I don’t think it would be far-fetched to say that some people would be emboldened to attack the press because of the president, and I don’t see that as any sort of political viewpoint. I really don’t. In this case, you had someone at a local level who happened to be a huge supporter of the president, who was viciously attacking a local reporter.”
While Mays has not commented on the lawsuit, she has posted a photo in support of journalists.