Why did Bari Weiss cancel me?

A curious and funny tale of ghosting from the education fringes of the "free speech" grift.

A few weeks ago, a self-described “casting producer” named Alcione Gonzalez working for a publication called “The Free Press,” sent me a note with a question: would I be interested in taking part in an education panel/debate The Free Press was hosting, filming and taping in Orlando on Sept. 7?

The Free Press is a vanity project published by a very thirsty writer named Bari Weiss, vaguely famous for years of “free speech” grifting, which reached its apex when she strategically quit the New York Times in a very public huff back in 2020. Why? She claimed her co-workers hurt her feelings with their free speech. I kid you not. She couldn’t get anyone to care enough to cancel her. So she canceled herself. She founded the Free Press after “founding” an unaccredited, anti-woke, fake college in Texas, which sort of still exists, I guess.

This was all very similar to Florida Poly’s grifter trustee Ilya Shapiro, who quit Georgetown in 2022 in a similar fake huff. All the cool “free speech” kids were canceling themselves back then. The trend seems to have waned.

But we had a connection, Bari … LOL

Anyway, back to Alcione Gonzalez. She was having trouble balancing this education panel, which was being set in Florida because of all the stupid fights centering on Florida’s “approach” to education, private and public. Lots of folks on “the right” were interested in the panel, Gonzalez said, as you can imagine, considering who runs The Free Press. Gonzalez had seen my stuff and thought I might make an entertaining counterbalance. I said, sure that sounds fun.

She gave me a Zoom “audition,” right then and there, in which I talked about how Florida is the worst state-level school system in America if test score “learning rate” is what you care about.

I explained why the median private school in Florida is far worse than the worst public school. She seemed pleased with my on-screen presence.

I asked who my combatants would be — hopeful that a grifter as noteworthy as Weiss might have bagged a Chris Rufo or a Corey DeAngelis or a Travis Pillow for her show. I wasn’t thrilled about the possibility of the session being edited. But I figured it was worth it to get in the same room with one of those guys. Gonzalez wouldn’t give me any names, explaining that organizers wanted spontaneity or something. Fine.

She asked me to recruit others who might counterbalance the unnamed forces of the broken “conservative” education status quo on the panel. Then she came back to me a few days later:

Hi Billy

Thanks for taking my call earlier this week. I wanted to check in to see if you had any additional progressive leaning voices on education that would be interested in participating in the panel. I know you had mentioned some names in our call.

Any suggestion you would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much, 

I did provide her a name and a contact, who, as I understand it, is still taking part in the panel.

Alas, I am not.

I had marked down the date on my fridge white board — and then forgotten about it, because, as my kids like to say, I am The Forgetter.

So when I noticed the date was approaching, and I hadn’t heard anything, I sent Alcione Gonzalez an email a couple days ago asking for the details. The response, which she apparently never planned to tell me:

Hi Billy thanks for reaching out, we've decided to go with other panelists for the event this weekend. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us and I hope we can work together in the future. Warm regards, Alcione

LOL. Warm regards.

Work together in the future? Actually I’ll just take a check for the uncompensated booking work I already did. This business model gives a whole new meaning to the The Free Press.

Rude and unprofessional? Or chicken?

Maybe I just was not dynamic enough in my audition.

But I don’t have a reputation for coming across as boring on a panel or podcast. Ask my former fellow school board members and the various folks I’ve riled up over the years. Charter school grifters don’t call shrinking violets “Public Enemy Number 1.”

Again, as I understand it, the person I recommended is still on the panel. I hope this person will tell me who shows up. Given Bari Weiss’ “stature,” and the apparent eagerness of Florida education status quo backers to participate, I bet some grifter (or or more) I’ve written about is on that list. Like say:

• Manny Diaz

• Ralph Arza

• Chris Rufo

• Richard Corcoran

• Travis Pillow

• General reform grifters, etc.

And given what I understand of Bari Weiss’ commitment to “free speech,” I would bet those guys get to know the “lib” guests in advance and have cancel power. Wouldn’t surprise me if one or more didn’t want to spend a couple hours getting called “grifter” to their face.

Anyway, it’s an amusing distraction from the “thoughts and prayers” for the victims of yet another MAGA shooter and his MAGA dad and the cops who can’t do anything about it because of people like this.

Happy Friday. Good luck to Team Bari on their grift.