E!’s post about YouTubers sends teens into meltdown mode

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.