Amy Schumer's new book is under assault from a brigade of trolls


Comedian Amy Schumer's new essay collection, The Girl with the Lower-Back Tattoo, is out. It's ranking No. 2 in Amazon's list of bestsellers and No. 1 in Satire and Humor sections. Nettled, perhaps, by the book's success, or by the fact that a female comic's business acumen landed her one of the most lucrative celebrity book deals in the business, a small group of fans of the now-defunct Opie and Anthony radio show are trying to sabotage the comedian by leaving fake one-star book reviews.
The plan was hatched in a subreddit dedicated to the show, which was hosted by shock jocks Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia until Cumia was fired for racist rants in 2014 (he was subsequently arrested for allegedly strangling a woman). (The show was renamed "Opie with Jim Norton.") Fans admired Cumia and Hughes for outrageously pushing the envelope on what comedy could do. The Amazon caper was proposed by one poster yesterday and got off the ground on a dedicated thread about an hour later, as users advised each other on how to create fake accounts and congratulated each other on especially witty entries (one poster broke the fourth wall by plugging another comic in his Amazon review, while a third suggested that "someone do that thing where you give a 5-star review but it's actually still a bad review disguised as a good one.").
An unusually clever entry:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"164225","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"137","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"600"}}]]
"Do your part. Submit more reviews. It's still too high at 2.4 stars," said one poster yesterday. The book remains the No. 2 bookseller on all of Amazon, but with a 2.3 rating and comments like "boooo" and "Lena Dunham is fat" rising to the top, these self-declared comedy experts are teaching Amazon readers a lesson on what humor is.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Lili Loofbourow is the culture critic at TheWeek.com. She's also a special correspondent for the Los Angeles Review of Books and an editor for Beyond Criticism, a Bloomsbury Academic series dedicated to formally experimental criticism. Her writing has appeared in a variety of venues including The Guardian, Salon, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and Slate.
-
The banned pesticide poisoning Caribbean paradise
Martinique and Guadeloupe have been rocked by soaring cancer rates amid other diagnoses
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - March 23, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - alphabet censorship, American de-education, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 unlawfully funny cartoons about the Executive vs the Judiciary
Cartoons Artists take on halting deportations, attacking judges, and more
By The Week US Published
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published