Jen Hatmaker

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

All about how it's the greatest and most dear and most revelatory thing she'd ever written!

Fierce Free and Full of Fire bit her on the butt. A cookbook was a safe re-entry to the publishing world. But what's next?

NGL- I was at Target and flipped through her cookbook, because I have enjoyed a couple of her recipes in the past when it was just an occasion blog post, like the pizza crust and sauce (delish.) Well, in one of the recipes, the endless preamble included an anecdote about Tray and Jenny and her having a text thread called Thruple and I just thought gross, why does she have to mention this?

The religiosity is helping keep her from utter anonymity and gives her an "edge." Otherwise girlfriend is just a run of the mill middle aged divorcee.

She has NO class. None. She's an immature person who brags on how uncouth she is.

[Anonymous]

Of Mess and Moxie and Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire were huge bombs. The latest cookbook was a one week wonder on the NYT's Misc and How To Bestseller List (not the hardcover 100). Then it tumbled into utter oblivion.

I remember her appealing to her corn-eaters on Facebook to leave positive 5 star reviews on Amazon of either Of Mess or FFF so it would have a "welcome birth into a the world" or some such nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly poster above me! 100%.

Of course conservative religious people can by very cruel and hypocritical and vigorously enforce compliance and punish those who stray from the pack.

But guess what, Jen? So can progressive religious people! Sometimes even more so! My husband is an academic at a state university in the midwest. We both have largely only voted for Democrats since the early 2000s. But he has to keep a lot of his personal viewpoints on matters completely private because he knows there is not any tolerance in his professional life for anything that goes against a certain narrative.

Jen's moral blinders are outrageous. Very back and white thinking like a simple person. "My team is 100% good and virtuous all the time and THAT OTHER TEAM is 100% bad and evil all of the time!".

Jen loves to insist on how "nuanced" she is.

But true nuanced thinking isn't tribal boosterism.

Exactly. True nuanced thinking doesn't align with any ideology 100% of the time (because if it does, you've just outsourced your critical thinking responsibilities to the hive mind) and understands it will take some flack for it, because groups like to police their borders. It seems to be a human thing; it's just something we do.

(And your husband's experience gels with what many of my friends in academia say--it doesn't matter how many times you've proven your bona fides as part of the left, you will be excoriated if you step out of line. If you're going to do it, make sure you have tenure.)

Her enthusiasm feels exactly like a high school girl who's dumped one friend group and is now convinced she has found her BEST FRIENDS FOREVER until one of them also likes a boy she likes.

[Anonymous]

Why in the world would a publisher give her a new deal to write a new "manifesto"?

She's a has been.

A new book on overcoming divorce triumphantly? Already been done a million times before. A new book on deconstructing your faith? No one wants to spend $25 on this sort of stuff?

[Anonymous]

Even pricing her mecourse on sex at $69. It's so trashy, gimmicky, low rent, immature. She has adult children--I'm not religious and this isn't a comment on her prior Christian community. But just grown up and mom to mom, it's sleaze and embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

The ultimate cruel irony was Jen releasing her "manifesto" with ALL THE ANSWERS right at the beginning of COVID and right before her own marriage blew up.

Normally I'd be incredibly sympathetic to something like this happening to anyone but something about pride goeth..?

[Anonymous]

So true. ALL of Jen’s besties are White women and Brandon did not appear to have any close Black friends either. Even with Black children, those two normalized Whiteness in their dearest relationships as “the best”. I would not be surprised if Ben and Remy’s closest friends were also White.

Nothing inherently wrong with being White obviously but racialized people raised in predominantly White environments often struggle with internalized shame.

[Anonymous]

Of Mess and Moxie was unreadable. One of the most obnoxious, sanctimonious, charmless, braggy pieces of crap I've ever attempted to read.

I stopped and re-gifted it after about 100 pages. I read all of Jen's previous books.

I can't imagine how obnoxious and tedious Fierce, Free, and Full of Shit is.

[Anonymous]

So true. ALL of Jen’s besties are White women and Brandon did not appear to have any close Black friends either.

And now her Black "boyfriend" has approx. zero Black friends. And gushes about white ladies but gets all self-righteous whenever a black person is killed. And wears T shirts reminding everyone he is a Black man. Does he live in Bordeaux or any other Black Nashville neighborhoods? Heck NO.

[Anonymous]

I’m gonna be forced to side with Brandon on their divorce because I cannot stand her sanctimonious, righteous indignation BS anymore. She’s such a fraud who’ll do anything for money. Yes Jen, you’re better than everyone! Have at it with your boyfriend who loves you so much he doesn’t even recognize you on social media.

[Anonymous]

I’ve taken note of people I follow who have lapped up her post. I paid Laura Tremaine for a Patreon account. Well. That’s done! Not renewing that!

[Anonymous]

If Jen was smart she'd decouple herself from the super toxic Influencer rat race, take a 12 month long sabbatical from all social media, reconnected with all her kids, mercifully ended the Big Sass Experiment, and went on a silent retreat to clear her mind or traveled a bit overseas alone or with some friends but privately.

Come back recharged as a free lance writer or writing coach or university instructor on "making it in the publishing world" or something. Extra credit too if she grew her hair out natural with some well-earned gray in it.

[Anonymous]

Jen is very smart but she’s also a grandiose narcissist in an unforgiving field. Influencer land is brutal and long-term success is a rarity. Yet she will cling to whatever fame possible for as long as she can even as the facade crumbles. Narcs NEED their fuel.

She deconstructed her faith. She now needs some years of therapy to deconstruct her personality.

[Anonymous]

She should take note of Dooce. She realized it was all stupid and completely stopped her narcissistic train wreck. I admire her for that. Dooce is the best example that I know of an influencer just deciding to throw it all away because the return on the investment wasn't worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So true. ALL of Jen’s besties are White women and Brandon did not appear to have any close Black friends either. Even with Black children, those two normalized Whiteness in their dearest relationships as “the best”. I would not be surprised if Ben and Remy’s closest friends were also White.

Nothing inherently wrong with being White obviously but racialized people raised in predominantly White environments often struggle with internalized shame.

I can't remember where I heard it but someone said "your first Black friend shouldn't be your adopted Black child." It definitely seems Ben and Remy were the first Black people she'd had extended, intimate contact with. I hope she's prepared to pay for their therapy because my guess is as they enter adulthood, they're really going to need it.