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Martha-Ann Alito, wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, sure can hold a grudge. The couple have been in hot water in recent weeks for flying pro-MAGA insurrectionist flags, which the conservative justice has claimed was the work of his “independently-minded” wife in an effort to piss of some of their neighbors who’d put up an anti-Trump sign. But a new leaked audio recording revealed just how much of a penchant that Martha-Ann has for beefs — including a surprising one with the Washington Post fashion critic Robin Givhan.
Last week, the Alitos were secretly recorded by liberal documentary filmmaker Lauren Windsor, who posed as a Christian conservative at a black-tie dinner hosted by the Supreme Court Historical Society. Windsor released two recordings on Monday, and throughout her conversation with Martha-Ann Alito, the justice’s wife complained about “the media” and threatened to sue journalists over recent reporting that the couple has flown two flags connected to the “Stop the Steal” movement and used by January 6 insurrectionists who falsely claim Donald Trump won the 2020 election. (The flags were a clear middle finger to the notion that Supreme Court justices should be nonpartisan and independent, though Justice Alito has put the blame on his wife and said it was her idea to fly the symbols.)
In Martha-Ann’s view, however, the reporting is an extension of attacks she feels the press has lobbied against her since her husband joined the Court. “I was denigrated early on, when we first came to town,” Alito said, bringing up a specific incident to illustrate her yearslong gripes: a Post style-section column from 18 years ago, in which Givhan critiqued her outfits during her husband’s confirmation hearings.
In her piece, Givhan wrote that the “charmingly awkward” cable-knit blue cardigan the nominee’s wife wore one day was reminiscent of bringing her own binky to the Senate. She added, “But then, who couldn’t use a little comfort during such a public ordeal?” The fashion critic also compared the gold tweed suit Martha-Ann wore on the third day of the confirmation hearings “to the upholstery that once covered La-Z-Boy.”
Even after nearly two decades, Martha-Ann recalled these details with uncanny clarity, complaining to Windsor that Givhan wrote she’d worn “a baby blanket one day and the next time I had on a La-Z-Boy recliner pattern suit.” Martha-Ann then claimed that the column was why Givhan won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism; the writer actually won for a slate of other pieces published in 2005. In her retelling, the justice’s wife called up Givhan to congratulate her on the award — misidentifying her as working for the New York Times — and asked her whether she’d be wearing Balenciaga to accept the prize, mispronouncing the brand as “Balenchega.” She then says she told Givhan to go take a walk around New York and enjoy her life. “She never came after me again,” Martha-Ann said.
But she wasn’t done beefing. When Windsor then pressed her about the alleged media persecution over the insurrectionist flags, Martha-Ann replied that “the Feminazis” believe that her husband “should control” her. She added: “So they’ll go to hell. He never controls me.”
And as much as Martha-Ann appears to love her flags, the Pride flag is an exception. When Windsor asked how the U.S. could be taken back to a “godly” place, the justice’s wife went on another tangent. “I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag because I have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month,” she said, floating the idea of an alternate, anti-gay-rights symbol that includes the word vergogna — Italian for “shame” — in it.
If any of the Feud writers are reading: Have you considered a season featuring the Alitos?
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Andrea González-Ramírez , 2024-06-11 23:22:03
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