![](https://digiday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/08/oakley.jpg?w=1030&h=440&crop=1)
E! is feeling bruis(E!)d by a bunch of teenagers.
Yesterday, the cable network sent teens into meltdown mode over a shady story questioning who and why Internet celebrities were appearing at the Teen Choice Awards on Sunday.
The listicle in question is titled “18 Moments from the 2015 Teen Choice Awards That Made Us Feel Super Old.” Intended to be a playful post asking who this throng of crop-top wearing celebrities were. Teens interpreted it as an ignorant and overly oblivious.
The offending articles asked why a “Choice Viner” award existed and belittled categories that included well-known YouTubers such as Felix Kjellberg (a.k.a. PewDiePie).
All valid questions, but perhaps the author should’ve used Google before igniting an flamewar that was fueled by YouTube star Tyler Oakley:
if this “article” is representative of @eonline, I fear for the brand’s future. https://t.co/3Q6RJuy1md
— Tyler Oakley (@tyleroakley) August 17, 2015
It was all downhill from there. Oakley’s 4.5 million followers rolled their collective eyes and dragged E! for writing the “appalling” and “rude” post. For example:
@tyleroakley @eonline cringing so hard at the lapse in judgement… — ☼ Kalel (@KalelKitten) August 17, 2015
@tyleroakley @eonline HOLY SHIT! Who the Hell wrote that? Had to be someone from the “traditional” world, surely.
— Joe’s Daily (@JoesDaily) August 17, 2015
@tyleroakley this is awful it’s just another example of people being quick to bash a generation or trends because they’re not part of it — cait | AUGUEST + 63 (@disneylandtyler) August 17, 2015
Prominent Internet celebrities also joined in:
Literally why would you put this in an article lol it’s just flat it rude and ignorant pic.twitter.com/TDty3evSet
— Ricky Dillon (@RickyPDillon) August 17, 2015
@shelbyy512 @eonline same it’s so disappointing that one person made their brand look bad – I like a lot of things from E! — Ricky Dillon (@RickyPDillon) August 17, 2015
@tyleroakley @eonline I saw that. I mean how do you not know who 1/2 of those people are? Was it to be humorous or truly out of touch?
— Michael Buckley (@buckhollywood) August 17, 2015
@tyleroakley @eonline go easy, it’s Regina George the intern’s first day. — Jenna Mourey/Marbles (@Jenna_Marbles) August 17, 2015
Hi @eonline! My name is Joey Graceffa, YouTube creator and New York Times bestselling author, so nice to meet you! https://t.co/dJkp8s3162
— Joey Graceffa (@JoeyGraceffa) August 17, 2015
Noticing the hurricane of hate-tweets, E! responded with the tea-sipping frog meme noting they gave YouTuber Grace Helbig her own show, hopefully proving they’re not that ignorant of digital culture.
Remember that time we gave a YouTube star their own TV show? pic.twitter.com/XLjv9j5XUQ — E! Online (@eonline) August 17, 2015
Helbig’s cheaply produced show was never a ratings success for E!, showing how difficult it is for old media to replicate the success of new media. The few people that did watch it let it be known by responding to E!’s tweet:
.@eonline I do! That was a very progressive & intelligent decision for your brand. Your recent articles & tweets on the other hand, are not.
— Connor Franta (@ConnorFranta) August 17, 2015
@eonline please don’t stray too far from your minute-by-minute Kardashian updates — Meghan Tonjes (@meghantonjes) August 18, 2015
@eonline remember that time you shaded a youtuber that has more viewers than you?
— math tha bath (@rockmydillon) August 17, 2015
E! responded to Oakley’s jab by using the #StraightOutta meme:
@tyleroakley pic.twitter.com/Z7tW26Hno9 — E! Online (@eonline) August 17, 2015
It doesn’t look like E! will be giving Oakley his show anytime soon.
Still, as the Daily Dot points out, E!’s ignorance of Internet personalities might draw attention but it’s not winning them over any fans: A recent survey shows that “YouTube stars are more recognizable to teen audiences than mainstream movie stars,” which are the network’s bread-and-butter.
Sadly for the teens, their request to get E!’s social media manager fired didn’t work since the tweets are drawing traffic to the website:
Give us ALL the clicks.
— Jeffrey Wisenbaugh (@KoolJeffrey) August 17, 2015
We’ve reached out to him for comment. If anything, at least E!’s tweets on the topic provided the world with a brief reprieve from seeing anything about the Kardashians.
Photo via YouTube/Screenshot.
More in Media
![](https://digiday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/ai-human-agreement.jpg?w=439&h=277&crop=1)
Media Briefing: The 2024 media glossary, pt. 2
In part two of the 2024 Media Glossary, we tackle many of the terms you may have heard in conversations about generative AI as well as increasing the value of publishers’ on-site content.
![](https://digiday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/08/Digiday_1030x600-copy-1.jpg?w=439&h=277&crop=1)
Amid layoffs and cost cutting, Time CEO Jessica Sibley is expecting a ‘very strong second half’
Time CEO Jessica Sibley joins the latest episode of the Digiday Podcast.
![](https://digiday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/07/tennis-money-digiday.jpg?w=439&h=277&crop=1)
How IBM and the US Open are using Watsonx to create more AI-generated tennis content
Additions include match reports delivered within minutes and AI-generated long-form articles edited by a human editorial team.