From Claire Zulkey's interview with Joel Stein:
You seem to take criticism in stride, but does it ever really get to you? If so, are there some times when you feel it more than others?
I figure I pick on people, so people should be able to pick on me. The worst criticism is when they're right. Not when they point out that I'm shallow or sophomoric or self-obsessed or something else I already know, but when they point out something bad I didn't know or worse yet, knew but was hoping no one would notice. Like that I'm a racist homophobe who knows little about pop culture and doesn't go to they gym nearly as much as he makes it seem. Ouch.
I was just kidding, Joel! I'm sure you know a lot about pop culture that you just didn't feel like writing about in your regular column in the biggest pop-culture magazine there is. And I was only making a play on the now-legendary quote about Jayson Blair anyway. (Whatever happened to that guy? He was hilarious!) I thought your column was pretty bad, but I wouldn't have said anything if I'd known they were going to replace you with Stephen "Think I'll Go for a Walk" King.
Posted by Jim Treacher at January 12, 2004 02:16 PM