Horror author Stephen King has apologized after jokingly tweeting that the recent election of Speaker of the House was as excruciating as a vacation to Utica.
The Misery author, who is a frequent Twitter user with more than 7 million followers, likened New York City’s industrial upstate to the speakership debacle in which a vote to elect McCarthy as Speaker of the House spanned 15 trials over several days required.
“The speakership is like that old joke: First prize is a week in Utica. Second prize is TWO weeks in Utica,” he joked.
Horror author Stephen King has apologized for making a comment about New York state comparing it to the controversy over Kevin McCarthy’s fight for the speakership in the US House of Representatives
The Misery author, who is a frequent Twitter user with more than 7 million followers, tweeted likening the speakership to vacationing in Utica, New York
But Utica residents didn’t take the ridicule, and King’s tongue-in-cheek comment drew backlash from residents and lawmakers in the city of 65,000, who rose to defend their reputation.
It came as it took McCarthy several days to win over 20 Republicans who initially did not support his speakership.
He eventually won the position after 15 rounds of voting.
His comments seemed to strike a chord with those associated with the city.
In the end, in the early morning hours of January 7, McCarthy narrowly won the speakership with 216 votes
The comment was met with backlash from residents and lawmakers in the city of 65,000, who rose to defend their reputation and were sensitive to King’s little joke
“Utica is a great city!” Utica City Councilman Delvin J. Moody tweeted. “I am a Utica Native and proud of it. The speakership is a whole cluster mess.’
“Hey man … Utica is a great city,” said New York Rep Marcus Molinaro.
‘Utica is a long way from ‘The Dead Zone’ these days, Mr. King. Come see how #OneidaCounty has grown,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. tweeted.
Others got personal with King: “You’re not funny and your books aren’t that good,” said one.
‘So what if 330,000 get offended in the subway area!! So typical of the superior attitude you have towards yourself?’ added another.
“Hmmmmm… semi-famous people who think it matters and opinions matter…” teased one Twitter user.
“Remember when Stephen King was relevant? Yes, never,” rang another.
King, author of The Shining, Carrie and other blockbusters, later apologized and acknowledged that his comment was inappropriate
“Thanks for the apology Stephen King,” New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted. “A reminder not to mess with 20 million New Yorkers!”
Utica, New York is famous for its history as an industrial and immigration center, particularly for its role in the development of America’s textile industry in the 19th century
King, author of The Shining, Carrie and other blockbusters, later apologized and acknowledged that his comment was inappropriate.
“I sincerely apologize to all the people of Utica that I have offended. I guess I should have said Cleveland? Or Salt Lake City?” he wrote.
“Thanks for the apology Stephen King,” New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted. “A reminder not to mess with 20 million New Yorkers!”
He also acknowledged that Utica had been referenced earlier in his work and that his daughter had even served as a minister in the city’s Unitarian Universalist Church.
Horror author Stephen King, 74, arrives in court in August 2022 to testify on behalf of the government during a trial in which the US Department of Justice is trying to persuade a federal judge to block a proposal against his own publisher Simon & Schuster Merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster
Last year, King testified at a trial to block a $2.2 billion merger between Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, calling the proposed post-merger plans “a bit ridiculous.”
King said in court that if the two mammoth publishers merge and are still fighting each other over books, it will be like “a husband and wife bidding against each other on the same house.”
He is among a group of people opposed to the $2.2 billion merger antitrust case, along with publishing executives and authors’ agents.
Penguin Random House, the largest book publisher in the United States, said it plans to buy rival Simon & Schuster in November 2020.
The publishing house belongs to the German media group Bertelsmann. Simon & Schuster is owned by ViacomCBS, now Paramount Global. The Justice Department filed its lawsuit to block the November 2021 merger.
King is fighting his own publisher Simon & Schuster, who has represented him for years – as many fear the “Big Five” publishers four will hurt the industry.
He has published more than 60 novels and has sold over 350 million copies worldwide.
The paperback advance he received for Carrie in 1974 was $400,000 — which is $2.4 million today.