Attiah declines return to Post after win
The opinion writer settled with the newspaper and cited a lack of institutional support for her voice.
By Renata Mehta ·
Opinion writer Karen Attiah has decided not to return to The Washington Post. She made the announcement on Sunday on her Substack, The Golden Hour by Karen Attiah. Attiah stated she reached a settlement with the newspaper and intends to move forward with her life and career.
The decision follows an August ruling by an arbitrator. The arbitrator ordered the Post to reinstate Attiah. The ruling determined the paper lacked sufficient cause to fire her. The arbitrator also ordered the newspaper to award her full back pay and lost benefits.
Attiah explained her reasoning in a post. She said, “While I remain proud of the victory, I came to the painful realization that returning to The Washington Post meant coming back without the guaranteed freedom and institutional support to do what I loved: use my voice, seek truth, and serve readers.”
A Washington Post spokesperson declined to comment on the decision on Monday. Attiah did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At the time of her firing, she was the only Black full-time member of the Post’s opinion desk.
The dispute began after the Sept. 10, 2025, shooting death of Charlie Kirk. Kirk, a white conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was killed at an event at Utah Valley University. He was 31 years old. He had previously made controversial statements about race and politics, including calling George Floyd a “scumbag.”
Attiah posted several comments on social media following Kirk’s death. One post noted that the rush to coddle violent white men was self-protective. The Post fired Attiah via email, citing “gross misconduct.” The email claimed her comments violated social media policies, harmed the organization's integrity, and endangered staff safety.
Attiah was one of dozens of professionals fired over their remarks regarding Kirk’s assassination. Trump vowed retribution for what he considered disparaging comments. The Democracy Defenders Fund and the Washington-Baltimore News Guild represented Attiah in the arbitration. A guild spokeswoman said in an email, “We are proud to have won the arbitration for Karen and are glad Karen was able to make her own choice about returning to the Post.”
