Greta’s great Twitter smackdown

Twitter lit up Wednesday morning after climate justice activist Greta Thunberg burned former professional kickboxer and social media influencer Andrew Tate online.

Tate started the exchange with a taunting tweet, bragging about his vast car collection and asking for her email address so he could send his complete inventory list and data on their greenhouse gas emissions.

Thunberg replied: “Yes, please do enlighten me. email me at [email protected].”

Tate, known for his misogynistic posts on social media, undoubtedly expected some backlash, and he got it. For example, entrepreneur and well-known Trump critic Brian Krassenstein tweeted: “Seems like exactly the kind of thing that would come from a man who beats women with belts,” apparently hinting at Tate's short-lived stint on a reality TV show in 2016.

Likewise, media critic and Salon journalist Gary Legum pointed out Tate’s misogynistic reputation, tweeting: “...I know you’ve probably got plenty of sycophants and incels telling you what a badass you are….”

Some, however, seemed to support Tate. In a deleted tweet, Tennessee state Rep. Curtis Johnson said that because Thunberg was an “abrasive arrogant little lecturer,” people had the right to target her, arguing Tate was not explicitly attacking young women.

Overall, Tate came out the laughingstock.

One of the most caustic responses came from historian Bendor Grosvenor, who suggested NASA use its high-powered telescope to help Tate find his penis.

Journalist Zack Hunt tweeted that Tate had spent his whole life training “and just got your ass kicked in one tweet from a teenage girl.”

D.C. news anchor Esther Ciammachilli tweeted Thunberg was the clear winner, writing: “One is a light-heavyweight world champion, the other is Andrew Tate.”

The final word on all this nonsense, though, goes to journalist Jacob Stolworthy, who tweeted: “And there was me thinking 2022 had peaked.”