When it comes to Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, liberal news pundit (and her former flame) Keith Olbermann continued to prove Friday that there is truly no love lost between them.
In an attempt to jump in on the so-called “Barbenheimer” fervor surrounding Friday’s dual film release of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” Sinema took to Twitter to share two photos of herself: one in which she’s smiling while wearing a Barbie-pink suit, and another black and white shot in which she’s locked in contemplation. She captioned the photos, “Get you a senator who can do both. #Barbenheimer.”
Sinema’s attempt at timely cinematic humor clearly backfired when it came to her ex, who tweeted back, “You have failed as a senator and as a human being. Get the f–k out of here.” The response earned widespread applause of Olbermann’s audience.
This is hardly the first time Sinema has drawn her ex’s ire. In September 2022, Olbermann took to Twitter and revealed that he and Sinema’s romantic history spanned 2010 and 2011 before he criticized recent political moves that turned her against her own Democratic colleagues.
Olbermann wrote, “When we dated, in 2010-11, Kyrsten was a legit progressive, far to my left. Now she has embraced the political industry where there is only process, not policy, and never people.”
He then called on Sinema to step back from her role as U.S. senator entirely and added, “Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona should resign after appearing with Mitch McConnell at a barely disguised Republican rally.”
Olbermann concluded the thread with a plug for his own podcast, and promised that he would dive into “the relevance of my nearly eight-year friendship and brief dating relationship with her.”
While a number of members of the Democratic Party have expressed their frustration with Sinema since her December 2022 decision to leave the party, Olbermann is the only one who has made things decidedly personal. When questioned about his decision to discuss their relationship more than a decade later, he defended himself.
Olbermann continued, “For a long time I believed — and held to a preference — that there was no need to make the dating part public. The friendship preceded and followed it for a span of seven years; I thought it was sufficient context. Turns out it wasn’t.”
Olbermann isn’t the only one who took issue with Sinema’s attempt at cultural relevancy. As the replies to Friday’s tweet demonstrate, Barbenheimer is one trend that the internet isn’t willing to let Sinema co-opt. The simultaneous release of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” has been built up as the cinematic event of the year all summer, inspiring many to plan to take in both movies via a double feature day.
Perhaps journalist Molly Jong-Fast put it best when she tweeted her one-word reply to Sinema: “Nopenheimer.”
