50-year-old Juli Briskman was catapulted into the national spotlight in October 2017, when she gave President Donald Trump's motorcade the middle finger. Her actions had consequences.
Fling the Lawsuit
On April 4, Briskman filed a lawsuit with the help of The Geller Law Group's Rebecca Geller and Maria Simon and the backing of Protect Democracy against the Herndon, Virginia-based Akima, LLC. Akima forced Briskman to resign from her position at the company in November 2017 after they claimed that Briskman violated the company's social media policy.
Akima stated that Briskman violated the company's social media policy when a picture of Briskman giving her middle finger was featured in countless media outlets including Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
U.S. News stated that while Briskman's face was not visible at the time when the photograph was taken, she told her superiors what happened after the photo went viral. While Briskman was fired for that expression, one of the company's senior director of operations stated a derogatory statement regarding the Black Lives Matter, and he was still employed by the company.
In the Protect Democracy press release that announced the Briskman versus Akima lawsuit, Simon stated that Briskman's expression of disapproval of President Trump was protected by both the United States Constitution and Virginia State Law.
USA Today also reported that the Geller Law Group added that Akima acted inappropriately and believed that the company fired Briskman because they feared unlawful government retaliation. In addition to her unlawful firing, Briskman is also suing the company for two weeks of severance pay and to help her with her legal fees, which comes out to $2,692.30. Briskman claimed that Akima only gave her two weeks of severance pay.
I criticized @realDonaldTrump, but I never thought I would lose my job b/c I live in the world's greatest Democracy. I am fighting back because no American should have to choose between their pocketbooks & their principles @GellerLawyers @protctdemocracy https://t.co/Q3CWhP7KF7 — juli_briskman (@julibriskman) April 4, 2018
The Mixed Reaction
Many people commented on Briskman's tweet when she published it on April 4. The commentary led to countless fiery debates with each side outlining their reasons why Briskman and Akima were in the right. Briskman's supporters believed that her firing was unjust and wished her luck against the company. Meanwhile, other Twitter users thought that Briskman's gesture against President Trump showcased her character flaws and stated that Akima was correct with their original decision.
Celebrities And Politics
Over the past few weeks, there have been numerous instances when the entertainers talk politics and current events. Ted Nugent unleashed his fury onto the Parkland, Florida, survivors who planned the March For Our Lives moment that inspired the country to protest for stricter gun control policies. Nugent called them ignorant and dangerously stupid.
Earlier this year, the Trump White House hit back at Jay-Z following the rapper's criticism about the overall African-American community's employment in the workforce. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that Jay-Z was incorrect with his statements and added that as of December 2017, the unemployment rate was down 6.8 percent.
There were a lot of political messages that came out of this year's Grammy Awards. Former Secretary of State and the Democratic Party's 2016 Presidential Candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton made a surprise cameo in a pre-recorded skit when she read an excerpt of Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury. Rapper Logic also aimed at President Trump's immigration policies by stating that they were worthy of living in the United States while he performed his Grammy-nominated single "1-800-273-8255" with Khalid and Alessia Cara.
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