Reuters
- The Oshry sisters, famous on Instagram, have made a name for themselves with viral memes and even a morning talk-show on YouTube.
- But a new Daily Beast report shed light on their mom, anti-Muslim political blogger Pamela Geller, who was banned from England for her extreme views.
- Their Oath show "The Morning Breath" was then canceled.
The Oshry sisters - Claudia, Jackie, Olivia, and Margo - are famous Instagram stars who have rose in popularity thanks to viral memes and social media videos. Claudia, better known by her username @girlwithnojob, is the most notable with nearly 3 million Instagram followers. She routinely posts memes such as this one:
But their life isn't all glitz and gifs.
The sisters seem to have been trying very hard to distance themselves from their mother, Pamela Geller, and her history of anti-Muslim views. But a Daily Beast report Wednesday shed light on the connection, and it's already having consequences.
Claudia and Jackie's (@jackieoproblems) YouTube morning show "The Morning Breath" was canceled Thursday by Oath, the company formed after Yahoo and AOL merged. The company issued a statement to The Daily Beast: "The Morning Breath, an Oath social-media show, is being canceled immediately and we have launched an internal investigation and will take other appropriate steps based on the results of the investigation."
This was a swift fall from grace for the Oshry sisters. Just last month, Oath CEO Tim Armstrong raved about the sisters in an interview with Recode (as Recode's Peter Kafka pointed out Thursday).
"Check out 'The Morning Breath,' I think it's one of the most ground-breaking programs," Armstrong said. "The Oshry sisters are some of the most talented people I've ever met. The impact they're having in the younger news generation is going to be meaningful."
Geller is known for being an anti-Muslim activist, far-right political blogger who has contributed to Breitbart News, and the executive director of Stop the Islamization of America (which the Southern Poverty Law Center has classified as a hate group).
Geller was even banned from England in 2013 because of her views. A government spokesman said at the time, "We condemn all those whose behaviours and views run counter to our shared values and will not stand for extremism in any form."
The sisters had mostly tried to keep their distance from their mother (they don't even follow her on social media) and have kept silent on her actions until now.
Claudia issued the following statement to The Daily Beast after the report ran:
"We want to be clear to our audience and fans that our political and cultural beliefs are not anti-Muslim or anti-anyone. Our views are separate from our mother's. Being raised by a single parent, we were taught to make our own choices based on our personal beliefs. We are inspired to think for ourselves and we do. We do not condone discrimination or racist beliefs of any kind."
Claudia also posted a video on Instagram Wednesday night apologizing for anti-Obama Tweets that resurfaced in The Daily Beast's report:
The Daily Beast report doesn't seem to be slowing Geller down, though. She posted half a dozen Muslim-related tweets Thursday morning.