The pity party has begun for Claudine Gay following her ouster as the president of Harvard. What began with a controversy over antisemitism led to a bevy of plagiarism charges, with the latest allegations being the last straw. 

As RedState reported, it wasn't long before left-wing DEI proponents and the mainstream press circled the wagons (but I repeat myself). The reasons given for Gay's ouster ran the gamut from wild conspiracy theories to charges of racism. What wasn't given credence was the fact that she was a serial plagiarist who had no business holding such a prestigious academic role. 

Tribalism trumps reality on the left every single time, and that's never more true than when the secular religion of intersectionality is in play. It wasn't just Gay's defenders who cried a river, though. She wrote a farewell op-ed in The New York Times that is absolutely pathetic. 

BREAKING: Claudine Gay just published an op-ed in the NYT where she decries attacks on "education and expertise," says she "fell into a well-laid trap" before Congress, and says that the people to called for her firing "trafficked in lies and stereotypes about black talent." pic.twitter.com/in2MxNt0Z1

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 3, 2024

What was the "trap" she's alleging was set for her? Gay was asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik if calls for genocide against Jews violated Harvard's code of conduct, to which she responded that it depends on the "context." That wasn't what took her down, though. In fact, her grossly antisemitic answer was largely papered over. 

Even the original claims of plagiarism didn't make a dent, with Harvard's leadership penning a letter in support of Gay even though she had obviously committed gross violations of academic ethics. It was only when a second trove of examples came forth that action was finally taken. 

Still, Gay has no intention of admitting what she did. Instead, she wrote this laughable paragraph defending herself. 

NEW: Claudine Gay writes a goodbye essay in the NYThttps://t.co/GYSlUgtCtM

''My critics found instances where some material duplicated other scholars’ language ... When I learned of these errors, I promptly requested corrections from the journals.''

FACT CHECK: FALSE

When… pic.twitter.com/X7nTmiFjg5

— Chris Brunet (@realChrisBrunet) January 3, 2024

Most recently, the attacks have focused on my scholarship. My critics found instances in my academic writings where some material duplicated other scholars’ language, without proper attribution. I believe all scholars deserve full and appropriate credit for their work. When I learned of these errors, I promptly requested corrections from the journals in which the flagged articles were published, consistent with how I have seen similar faculty cases handled at Harvard.

I have never misrepresented my research findings, nor have I ever claimed credit for the research of others. Moreover, the citation errors should not obscure a fundamental truth: I proudly stand by my work and its impact on the field.

It's jarring to witness someone lie so smoothly. She's trying to present her plagiarism as an accident, completely unbeknownst to her as she was committing it. To be clear, she didn't just "duplicate other scholars' language," she lifted whole paragraphs word for word. She also did not promptly admit to her actions when confronted with them. As Chris Brunet points out above, she and Harvard instead tried to bury them, threatening to sue The New York Post if they published their story on it. 

The rest of that excerpt is simply incredible. Gay says she never "claimed credit for the research of others." That's exactly what she did, though. When you copy someone else's work and publish it as your own, you are claiming credit for it whether you announce it or not. 

Gay went on in her op-ed to do the expected. Namely, claim that the real reason she was targeted is because she's just too darn diverse.

It is not lost on me that I make an ideal canvas for projecting every anxiety about the generational and demographic changes unfolding on American campuses: a Black woman selected to lead a storied institution. Someone who views diversity as a source of institutional strength and dynamism. Someone who has advocated a modern curriculum that spans from the frontier of quantum science to the long-neglected history of Asian Americans. Someone who believes that a daughter of Haitian immigrants has something to offer to the nation’s oldest university.

In other words, she's a strong black woman who favors "diversity," and that should give her total immunity from basic standards. She's also an immigrant, so that gives her double protection. Talk about the soft bigotry of low expectations. I don't know a single black person outside of politics who thinks they are above reproach simply because of their skin color and immigration status, which goes to show how perverse the left-wing partisan bubble can be. 

It should also be noted that the Times didn't put an ounce of effort into investigating Gay's plagiarism, but the moment she lost her position, they offered her prime real estate to play the victim. It's a travesty that we've come to a place in society where someone can behave badly but because they are on the "right" team, they can pretend to be oppressed. Gay makes nearly a million dollars a year and will get to keep her tenure. If anything, no real accountability has been found in this situation. She's gotten away scot-free, which is par for the course for a Democrat.